The renovation of Couples Tower Isle, formerly Couples Ocho Rios, is now complete and the hotel is in operation. As with the other hotels in the Couples chain, it has fallen in line with the desire of interior decorator, Jane Issa, to indulge visitors with the best Jamaica has to offer.

Cultivating the vision at Couples Tower Isles, are two murals dating from 1949, that bring visitors to a place of appreciation for the country's rich history.

The murals, which, until recently, were hidden, are located in the 'Eight Rivers Restaurant, and are approximately 15 feet tall as they measure in width. Their original creator, John Pike, would have been proud at the remarkable job executed by the students of Edna Manley College of Visual and Performing Arts, in restoring the murals.

Famous painter

John Pike, a famous American painter and illustrator, who lived in Jamaica in the 1930s and 1940s created indelible memories through his design of art deco plaster relief work on the Carib Theatre in St Andrew. The students responsible for restoring his murals, working under the supervision of Keeble Allen, Joelle Sark, and Monique Lofters, also worked on the restoration of the paintings and walls of the Holy Trinity Cathedral, North Street, Kingston.

Allen was assistant supervisor to the Holy Trinity Cathedral project and acted as art director to the Tower Isle project.

According to interior decorator, Jane Issa, the extent of the damage to the Tower Isle murals was paint discolouration, cracking, and the plaster being badly chipped, as a result of gypsum that had been nailed to cover the murals in a 1980s renovation of the hotel.

In November 2008, Paul Issa, deputy chairman of Couples Resorts, approached the students, at a student exhibition held at the C[a]Ge Gallery at Edna Manley College.

Final-year student Joelle Sark relates the most major challenge as being that the original murals had undergone alterations in the hotel's 60-year history, before the recent restoration by the students. Alterations had been done in glossy enamel, and, in other cases, oil-based paint which could not be undone. Other challenges included sharing time between the Tower Isle murals and completing final year projects.

"Monique and I were also completing our final papers and our final examination work concurrent with the project. The project took seven weeks out of our final semester," explained Sark. Additionally, Allen, their assistant art supervisor/director, was still working on the Cathedral's restoration, and could only lend his time on weekends to assist the two students.

At last, after approximately five months, the finished project could be shown in April, when the hotel re-opened as Couples Tower Isle.

Badly damaged

On the western wall, the mural depicts the landing of Juan de Esquivel, first governor of Jamaica in November 1509, being watched by curious native Arawaks. Restoration of this mural, according to Sark, was relatively simple and involved mostly patching and matching of the original colours. On the opposite wall (eastern), the pastoral scene was badly damaged especially from the nail holes and flaking cement.

Now remarkably restored, its central figure is a flowering cottonwood tree. Two Jamaican farmers, seemingly homeward bound, are walking along the tree's giant elevated root system. It depicts a Jamaican folk scene, through the colours winding in the shape of trees and people. There is a lot of energy, reflecting the vibrancy of life in the early days of Jamaica's history.

Anthea McGibbon can be contacted at islandartattack@yahoo.co.uk or theoaasis@yahoo.co.uk. She is founding CEO of OAaSIS International, created to improve the creative minds of young Jamaicans.