Negro Aroused: Kingston

de bene esse: literally, of well-being, morally acceptable but subject to future validation or exception

The original sculpture of Negro Aroused was created in 1935, by Edna Manley and was first exhibited in 1937. From its exposure, Negro Aroused excited the public's imagination and was acquired by public subscription and presented to the Institute of Jamaica to form the nucleus of an exhibition.

In 1977, work began to enlarge the sculpture and to create a monument to the workers of Jamaica and the Workers Movement which was born in 1938. Edna Manley was commissioned to recreate the work in bronze, at a scale three to four times that of the original. She was assisted by several young sculptors. Prior to its shipment to New York for bronzing, the seven-foot version was destroyed in a warehouse fire.

In 1982, Edna Manley produced a third version, closer in size to the original, but it incorporated some of the subtle changes she had introduced in the destroyed sculpture.

In 1991, the sculpture was posthumously enlarged by utilizing the "scaling up" technique of bronze foundries for the enlargement of a sculpture. The third version was selected because it was closer in size to the destroyed version. The cost was met by public subscription.