The Matriarch and the Missing Man

When Evan McDonald began listening closely to his grandmother’s childhood memories, he didn’t realise he was gathering the first threads of what would become his artistic identity. Her stories—staking out sheep, fetching water from the standpipe, walking the roads of Christ Church with her mother and cousins—became an informal archive. They revealed resilience, community and the early foundations of his family’s story.

Meet Evan McDonald, the artist behind the award-winning Margaret & Ralphie

“It showed me the resilience and gave insight into the development of my family,” he shared. “That to me was powerful.”

Those memories now echo across Evan’s work as he explores Caribbean family structures, the emotional legacies of matriarchs, and the complex absences of men. His 2025 NIFCA Gold-winning painting, Margaret & Ralphie, captures these themes with striking clarity, earning him a nomination for the Prime Minister’s Scholarship and a place among this year’s NIFCA All-Stars.

Evan grew up hearing fragments of conversations about the men in his family—whispers, anecdotes, and incomplete stories. As he got older, those fragments sharpened into a recognisable pattern.

“As you grow older, it’s almost like you are unlocking new levels of information,” he explained. “By my teenage years I was very aware that the majority of the men in my family’s lineage weren’t as present or weren’t at all.”

That awareness manifested in his early paintings, many of which centred on women. Over time, he began challenging himself to widen the narrative, leading to the creation of Margaret & Ralphie.

In the painting, Margaret stands with a striking presence: detailed, illuminated, and inspired by Marian iconography from St Mary’s Church. For Evan, Caribbean grandmothers occupy a sacred social role.

“Regardless of any flaws or behaviour, the grandmother still has a saint-like quality,” he said. “They bring people together.”

Ralphie, by contrast, is shadowed—his face covered by a dark, dripping bouquet. Only one eye breaks through. The ambiguity reflects Evan’s own experiences.

“My grandfathers weren’t present in my life or the lives of their children… there were also no photographs,” he said. “So they were genuinely a mystery.”

Evan’s Gold Award–winning piece, Margaret & Ralphie.

Ralphie becomes a symbol of the absent patriarch, the family figure known more through stories than presence. Evan intentionally avoided a fixed narrative, allowing each viewer’s personal history to shape the interpretation.

“This is the first time I’ve ever done a piece and I didn’t have an intended narrative,” he admitted. “Opening it for audience interpretation does something interesting.”

Though his heritage spans Barbados, St Vincent and St Lucia, Evan’s work remains grounded in Barbadian cultural codes. Understanding how colourism, class and family dynamics differ across Caribbean islands helps him sharpen what feels distinctly Bajan while still creating space for regional resonance.

“My Barbadian roots are what I’ve focused on mostly,” he noted. “Pieces I believe the region could relate to, but works I know for sure Bajans could understand and interpret.”

Evan’s visual language extends beyond acrylic paint. Embroidery allows him to tap into a nostalgic domestic aesthetic, while installation brings viewers directly into the emotional environment of the work. Both have helped him uncover new ways to explore memory and identity.

His artistic journey has been strengthened through the Fresh Milk / Mellon Foundation / NCF Grant, which has expanded his research capabilities and provided vital resources for producing work at the standard he envisions.

“It has made the process of creating so much easier,” he said, noting that it has also clarified the direction of his next body of work, which will delve deeper into themes of colourism, classism, migration, early Black middle-class families and the legacy of Free People of Colour.

With Margaret & Ralphie now celebrated nationally, Evan is eager to see how Bajans connect their own experiences to his work.

“I’m just excited at the thought of people creating their own story about what is happening with Margaret and Ralphie.”

That openness is what makes Evan McDonald a true NIFCA All-Star. His work is deeply personal, yet profoundly collective—inviting us to reflect on the grandmothers who shaped us, the men whose absences left shadows, and the quiet, complicated histories that still define the Caribbean family.

Through Margaret & Ralphie, Evan does more than paint a couple on canvas. He paints the emotional blueprint of a region. (PR)