This year’s theme is ‘Rewriting The Narrative’.
History in general has been written up by the victors but in today’s age how should we perceive the history of black people in our past?
This in part is what Centrepieces did in Black History Month as well as produce some excellent artwork.
Geoff Norris, Coordinator of Centrepieces, requested that we look at Angeline Morrison’s Sorrow Songs. Sorrow Songs is a term used about African Americans and their suffering during the period of slavery in the USA – Sorrow songs – Wikipedia. Ms Morrison clearly wanted to reflect the Sorrow Songs of the UK. Her songs were great material for thought provoking discussion, sharing personal experiences & artwork.
Our workshops covered four weeks running into the first week of November, reflecting on Ms Morrison’s songs.
1st Week – Black John. This song is about John Ystmullyn. He has had his narrative rewritten. He is now known as the first Black Horticulturist rather than just a good gardener. He ran away from his owners, the Wynn family, to get married to his Welsh love and was asked to return to the Wynn homestead because of his skills in cultivating new species of plants. John Ystmullyn has been commemorated in the form of a full headed, many petalled yellow tea rose. We produced work around John’s Yellow Rose using abstract images alluding to John’s life & work.
2nd Week – Mad Haired Moll O’ Bedlam & Mad Molly and the politics around hair. The vilification of Mad Molly is heart rending. We discussed how black hair has to be straightened or ‘tamed’ for women of colour to be accepted. We produced portraits of people of colour using charcoal, erasers & cotton wool buds to produce some well accomplished pieces of work. Portraits produced were of Madam CJ Walker (first self-made black female millionaire), Michelle Obama, Matthew Hensen (1st Black Man to reach the North Pole, before Cook) and a depiction of Mad Molly.
3rd Week – Cruel Mother Country. We talked about Queen Charlotte and the possibility of her being black. This was global PR to encourage or press gang people of colour to go to war for the Mother Country ie Great Britain. This week we made our skin colour in acrylic paint and then added a pouring medium to that colour. Once done we used the acrylic pouring method, using a series of prepared pouring acrylic paint for the desired effects. Every artist’s work came out beautifully unique.
4th Week – Listen With Your Eyes by SignKid. This is the week when we didn’t use Angeline Morrison’s material but in fact listened and watched SignKid and ‘Listen With Your Eyes’. Great footage. The people who knew British Sign Language (BSL) noticed that SignKid had a different vocabulary from what was generally learnt or experienced. It was reported that Black Deaf people are even more marginalised than their White counterparts because they are not just ostracised by one group in society but two. Intersectionality was discussed a little concerning barriers that are constantly there in relation to the Equalities Act and protective characteristics.
In our last session the artists continued with acrylic pours by adding silhouettes to their work to convey a story or a feeling they felt about ‘Rewriting the Narrative’. For my particular piece I decided to paint a zen-like goddess, containing the fire (anger/passion) inside and endurance of the fire outside, all the while exuding a calm quality, holding everything in balance and calm. Another piece that was beautifully revealed was of a ship on the ocean waves being tossed about at sea, with peaceful palm trees in the foreground depicting dreams, desires and reality all in one artwork. It was very sensitively done.
All in all a lot was learnt. For one, about art techniques that we can take forward in our art exploration. For the other, hopefully the facilitators and the artists learnt a lot from the songs that Ms Morrison and SignKid have created. Certainly for me it has encouraged me to explore more about Black History and encouraged me to do more reading even if it’s on Audible. The next two books that have been recommended for me to read are ‘Why I am no longer talking to White People about Race’ and ‘Why I am no longer talking to Black People about Race & George Floyd’.
In the end, these workshops have not only deepened our understanding of the complexities of Black history but have also inspired us to continue rewriting the narrative, both in our art and our lives.
Report by: Isotou Nadia Halliday