Cover artwork for the dancehall album 'Original Stalag 17–18 and 19' (Techniques, 1985).
Wilfred Limonious was a Jamaican comic artist and illustrator, who drew the newspaper gag comics 'Chicken' and 'Amos' for the Jamaica Star. He is best-known as an album cover designer, whose joyful cartoons decorated the sleeves of many dancehall records. Mostly a local cult figure during his lifetime, he gained more international fame posthumously.
'Chicken'.
Early life and comics career
Born in 1949 in Albert Yown, Trelawny, Wilfred Limonious studied graphic design at the Jamaica School of Art (nowadays Edna Manley College of Visual and Performing Arts). He published his first gag comics in the Jamaica Star, starring characters such as 'Chicken' and 'Amos'. During the 1970s he was house illustrator for the Jamaican Movement for the Advancement of Literacy (JAMAL).
Album covers
During the 1980s and 1990s, Limonious made over 132 album covers for dancehall records. They were all drawn fast and without much concern about graphic excellence. His drawings look like comic strips, complete with speech balloons using the local patois dialect. The loose style perfectly fits the fun, happy and carefree atmosphere of the music. Among his works are the record covers of Jah Thomas' 'Shoulder Move' (1983), 'Si Boops Deh' (1985) by Super Cat, 'Xmas Disco' (1985) by Barrington Levy, 'The Marshall' (1986) by Cocoa Tea, 'Girls Them Pet' (1986) by Yellowman, 'Black Solidarity' (1986) by Crime Act and various compilation albums. Limonious also recorded a song himself, 'Young Love', released on the label Wax. Limonious soon became a cult figure in Jamaica and his style was widely copied by many other illustrators of album covers. He was in such high demand that he designed the VHS covers of the local plays 'Hataclaps' and 'Fire Ina Yuh Wire' by Ian Reid.
Legacy and influence
In 1999, Wilfred Limonious passed away in Kingston Public Hospital at the age of 50. For a long while he remained mostly a local celebrity, since many of these dancehall albums weren't released outside Jamaica. In 2010, authors Christopher Bateman and Al Newman researched his life and career, which culminated in a 2015 exhibition of Limonious' work at the South London Gallery in the UK and the book 'In Fine Style, the Dancehall Art of Wilfred Limonious' (One Love, 2015). Their efforts led to global interest in Limonious' artwork.
Books about Wilfred Limonious
For those interested in Limonious' life and career, Christopher Bateman and Al Newman's 'In Fine Style, the Dancehall Art of Wilfred Limonious' (One Love, 2015) is a must-read.
Cover artwork for the compilation album 'Computer Corn' (Ujama/Black Solidarity, 1987).