Dready
{{Short description|Jamaican character and art style}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=June 2019}}
Dready is a character and a style of art created by West Indian (Jamaican born) artist Shane Aquart. The art began by focusing on a humorous Caribbean character called Dready but grew over time to become a style of its own in which the artist himself is ″Dready″.
History
Dready began as a doodle, in the vein of those in Mad Magazine, around the edges of Shane’s workbooks, but he didn’t begin planning the first Dready designs until the late 1990s. He began selling his art on postcards and T shirts in Barbados, Grenada, Cayman and Jamaica in late 2005, and on bags and baseball caps in 2006.
Dready as a business was launched in January 2008. This coincided with a shift by the artist from merchandise to contemporary wall art, with his first group show in 2009 and his first permanent gallery placement in 2010. Dready’s first solo art show was in 2013 at the National Gallery of the Cayman Islands in a show called; ‘Things that exist only in my fading memory.'Skywritings Magazine Article, Air Jamaica's Inflight Magazine
Dready was included in the national collection of the Cayman Islands in 2011 and again in 2013 and 2019.{{Cite web |date=9 February 2019 |title=Cross Currents: 1st Cayman Islands Biennial |url=https://www.nationalgallery.org.ky/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/Cross-Currents-Flyer-5x8-1.pdf |access-date=11 January 2023 |website=National Gallery Cayman Islands}}{{Cite web |last= |date=2019-02-25 |title=National Gallery acquires four new pieces |url=https://www.caymancompass.com/2019/02/25/national-gallery-acquires-four-new-pieces/ |access-date=2023-01-11 |website=Cayman Compass |language=en-GB}} He has had a permanent placement in the Walking Gallery at the Ritz-Carlton since 2011. His first solo shows in Jamaica were held in 2014 and 2015. His first group show was at the OXO tower in London in 2017.{{Cite web |title=Local artist featured in The New York Times {{!}} Loop Cayman Islands |url=https://cayman.loopnews.com/content/local-artist-featured-new-york-times |access-date=2023-01-11 |website=Loop News |language=en}} Dready art has also been included in the Ritz-Carlton, Grand Cayman.{{Cite web |last=Korney |first=Stephanie |date=2020-02-23 |title=Work By Jamaican Artist Featured In Cayman Islands At Caribbean's Largest Hotel Suite |url=http://jamaicans.com/work-by-jamaican-artist-featured-in-cayman-islands-at-caribbeans-largest-hotel-suite/ |access-date=2023-01-11 |website=Jamaicans.com |language=en-US}}
In 2021 Dready became the first artist in Cayman{{Cite web|url=https://www.digitalcayman.com/nft-dready-art-auction/|title = NFT "Dready" Art AUCTION - Digital Cayman| date=8 June 2021 }} to be asked to do an NFT linked artwork to auction, the Koman Fine Art Gallery in Vero Beach, Florida. The art was featured in the Half Moon resort in Jamaica.{{Cite web |title=Half Moon's Hibiscus Accommodations Completely Renovated |url=https://www.salamanderhotels.com/press/news-releases/half-moons-hibiscus-accommodations-completely-renovated |access-date=2023-01-11 |website=www.salamanderhotels.com |language=en}}{{Cite web |last=Bamberger |first=Beck |title=Half Moon Resort Is For Jamaican Dreamin' |url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/beckbamberger/2022/05/14/half-moon-resort-is-for-jamaican-dreamin/ |access-date=2023-01-11 |website=Forbes |language=en}}
Work
Dready is a mixture of pop art and poster art.{{Cite web |date=2016-02-07 |title=Dready drives into Kingston |url=https://jamaica-gleaner.com/article/art-leisure/20160207/dready-drives-kingston |access-date=2023-01-11 |website=jamaica-gleaner.com |language=en}} His designs are drawn digitally. Common motifs include Range Rovers.
