Myself in 2011 (left) and my mum in 1989 (right)
A couple of weeks ago I was asked by Amber Ablett, an artist, curator and designer working in Bergen and London, whether I would like to be involved in an art project centred around people with a mixed heritage. Immediately I was intrigued by the idea. My heritage has always been something that I have had an acute awareness of but as I have little access to my dad's side it is not something that I have ever fully explored.
The project is centred around four Skype conversations, during which I have been asked to think of a childhood story and then relate this to the artist. From this initial conversation, which I have just carried out, key words will be extracted and sent back to me. I will then observe this list of words in order to see whether they spark off any other memories. Through a continuation of this process Amber should then be left with an accumulation of memories. The work will then be displayed on a four screen video installation where each screen will show 'break downs' of the original story. The narrative will switch between the four videos, becoming more and more confusing as the language breaks down further.
Instantly the project has sparked interest in me. As an English student the study of language is certainly familiar to me and the idea of exploring how certain words may bare traces of our past is intriguing. I am reminded of psychoanalysis, and in particular Freud's work, which claimed that much could be found in the way we relate our experiences - from the phrasing we use to the accent and tone of our voice. This is exactly what Amber intends to display through her project.
Although we are not specifically asked to relay stories that are focused solely on having a mixed heritage, the idea is to consider how having a multi-racial background has the potential to be particularly complex. Growing up this has been an inherent question, - the extent to which my heritage illuminates the person I am, particularly the side that I have little physical relation to. Perhaps what this project will allow is for me to discover how much my heritage factors into my present self. Once the project is complete I will complete a post reflecting on this question and the overall outcomes of the project, I am extremely excited to see the approach Amber takes and her finished piece.
My dad (centre) playing in a South African band in the early 70s.
This is indeed intriguing and I Hope that when the Project is complete you will have more answers than questions? I too am of mixed heritage, intercultural and inter-racial as my Dad was an American GI of Native American Ancestry and he met my Welsh Mom when he was stationed in her Country. Our Cultural Experienced has further intrigue in that my Materal Grandfather was raised by a Chinese Family due to the loss of a parent in WWI, so we have a lot of Eastern Influence even though we are not of Chinese Ancestry biologically. And as Generations have progressed we now have even further Cultural diversity as our Children and Grand-Children have even more Ethnicities blended, making quite an Interesting mix. As people with diverse Multi-Cultural and Ethnic Diversity it has made for quite an Enriching Experience in so many ways, but also one that does often cause complexity and difficulties in acceptance with Society at times. Though there is more tolerance now than in the past. Good luck with the Project, I Hope you will Blog about the results?! Blessings from the Arizona Desert... Dawn... The Bohemian
ReplyDeleteThat's such an interesting background, it certainly does sound rich! You must have incredible stories to share as a family. My dad was South African and my Grandmother grew up in Egypt, while my Great Grandmother was Latvian. Sadly there seem to be many things about those cultures that have been lost and I have had little access to much of my heritage. It's something that I'd really love to explore now that I am older and out in the world myself. Perhaps this project can be the starting point for that, I'll be sure to continue to blog about the results! Thanks for commenting. Love and light from Brighton, Jamila.
Delete