June 2022
June has been a full of highs and lows. Early in the month was the the jubilee, supposedly meant to celebrate 70 years of an old white descendant of colonisers, nazis and slave owners who has sat on a throne of gold all her life. The union flags were out on every high street across the country, in every window and on all the special editions of tat and rubbish to sell back to brainwashed people. Yikes. Pride is as important as it has ever been, a protest for freedom and liberation. Refugees in england being sent back to countries where they were fleeing homophobic attacks and death threats (because of colonial laws imposed by britain btw). LGBTQIA+ people are not safe anywhere on this planet, all for wanting to be free to love whoever and be whoever they are. Conservative, cis-heteronormative, ableist, racist powerful people making decision to take away peoples freedoms, whether its access to safe abortions and reproductive care with Roe v Wade being overturned in the USA or our rights to protest being stripped of us in the UK. Well workers have had enough, across the nation RMT (transport union) have been on strike, for better pay, better working conditions, saving their pensions and against fire and rehire. Workers make the country function, without them no one would be able to do anything, get anything, get anywhere and thus they deserve to be paid enough to live comfortably on. CEOs and big bosses have gotten richer throughout the pandemic (And tory austerity the past 12 years) and its the working class who are demanded to make cuts and suffer a “cost of living crisis”. Amongst all the anger is also people power, and seeing workers from Transport, Communications/Postal, Junior Law/Legal Aid and soon Airline workers uniting against capitalist super powers is inspiring and a reminder of peoples collective power. My Uncle was visiting so we had some cute moments with Grandma in the garden hanging out in the afternoon sun, and had a day out together in Central London. If you want to hear more about my visit to the London Transport Museum and Hidden London Tour of Charing Cross Station you can find more info below. I made a lot of progress with patch-working and tie-dying this month and now that I have finished this newsletter Im excited to get back into creative mode. Until next time, I love you and thanks for reading!
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Hidden London tour of Charing Cross Station
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Hidden London tours are something I have wanted to do for years! Thankfully stars aligned and during Uncle Ev’s visit he suggested we go along and see what its all about. We chose the Charing Cross tour which takes you underneath Trafalgar Square through old construction tunnels and standing above active tube trains inside of a ventilation shaft. It was great for me to see the tour led by young people, seeing their knowledge and enthusiasm come across so authentically, with humour as well. London Underground is not only a pioneering transport system, it is a pillar of design over the decades, showcasing cutting edge technology, as well as creating a language of design, a complete identity for the transport network. This has varied in styles and trends over the decades but TfL have always been consistent with the use of fonts as well as the iconic red and blue roundel for each station. The tour was a great opportunity to see behind the scenes of a station which is still in use today, just with parts of it closed to the public since 1999, only having run for 20 years. Now these platforms and tunnels are used for film and TV as well as training emergency services and finally for testing out new concepts such as digitally projected billboards and strep free access. Charing Cross is not a station I have ever used in my life (as Leicester Square and Covent Garden are on my local Piccadilly Line and much closer/more convenient) but it was still an exciting novelty to go behind an unsuspecting grey door and into an underground world of discovery. The disused parts of this station are perfect for emergency services training as it is relatively modern having been built in the 1979. For example, my local station was opened in 1933, or the oldest station still in use, Baker Street opened in 1863. Compare these to Charing Cross it would have much more modern amenities and systems which could be of use to police, ambulance and fire fighters training. My favourite parts were walking down a long tunnel (which was used for filming parts of Skyfall), going round a bend and ending up somewhere underneath Trafalgar Square, it was just such a cool feeling to be in this space underneath somewhere that you have walked across, to and from many times throughout my life. I just love London adventures so much and its been so long since Ive been able to enjoy something like that, I was in pain hobbling around and I was absolutely knackered for a few days afterwards, but I loved the experience. History is so interesting to me, combine that with my love for this city and mix it with design/art/architecture and I had an absolutely great day. Hoping we can make a habit of doing this everytime Ev visits.
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As mentioned in the 2022 section of Hanecdote’s 10th Birthday Newsletter, I have developed my applique technique from cutting out coloured felt and blanket stitching pieces together, to getting felt printed with my illustrations already on it in my bold style. I cut out around the black outline, and coloured in the edge with black sharpie so that the white background of the felt wouldnt show through or distract from the image. Then I just used black thread to tack the motifs onto the surface of the patchwork I have created. The motifs on this particular work are from my illustration about my Special Interests which include, Art, Textiles, History, Design, Architecture and Sex/Pleasure. The motifs on this particular work are from my illustration about my Special Interests which include, Art, Textiles, History, Design, Architecture and Sex/Pleasure.This is a patchwork which I drew up on my ipad and is the biggest I have assembled so far. It was been a real struggle trying to adapt and evolve through chronic pain, when my heart desires to hand embroider for hours, but I am in a place where despite fatigue and pain I am enjoying what Im making and not feeling like Im compromising. I am excited to complete my second quilt and will be showing you that progress next month, im sure!
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This time ten years ago (during the 2012 jubilee) my mind really wasnt decolonised as a 17 year old. I say that to say that I designed a tshirt for the street party that our road hosted in june 2012. This was shortly after Hanecdote first started in May 2012 and I made a design which had a diamond, a crown and flowers for each nation of the UK, a daffodil for Wales, a thistle for Scotland, a shamrock for Northern Ireland and a rose for England. The past ten years I have learnt and become anti-royal and monarchy, especially as I learnt more about the violence of the british empire and all the colonising that was done in the name of the crown. In the past few years, the fascist Tory government have ramped up their gaslighting and culture war surrounding the teaching of colonial history and how empire has impacted the face of not only britain but the entire globe. Holocaust Denial is illegal in 15+ countries, and I believe it should also be illegal for european colonisers to deny the crimes against humanity caused by their colonisation. European COLONISER nations that were built on the stolen labour of Enslaved African People need to receive formal apologies from the monarchy and the government, as well as sufficient reparations, some people estimate is around £7.5 trillion from britain alone. Bearing in mind that when The Slave Trade was abolished in the UK, reparations were paid to slave owners for their loss of property. The national debts for this pay out were not paid back until 2015, meaning descendants of those Enslaved African People were paying back the debt through their taxes. What a twisted system and state we live in. To this day, conservatives are convinced that the empire was a positive force in world history and thus gaslight us and threaten national institutions who try to explore this history in an honest way. Google ‘Operation Legacy’ and you’ll see how as countries were beginning to gain independence, evidence across the globe was destroyed, documents which proved britains torture and violence inflicted upon colonised people with absolute hatred. With all the royal visits to the Caribbean during an ongoing global pandemic, it is enough now. With a Tory cost of living crisis where millions of brits are having to choose between heating their house and eating, meanwhile BILLIONS of pounds are wasted on a jubilee celebration. Expensive cars driving around expensive crown jewels, princes and princess, dukes and duchesses waving from balconies, massive military planes and displays and princes sitting in golden thrones. Its a sick joke. Weirdos looking up to a woman who owned dozens of countries in her lifetime, during her long and record breaking reign as monarch of a vile, empire of stolen wealth and incestuous relations, Nazi family, pedo/rapist son and the royal institutions and media bullied the first Black/Mixed person to join the family. I cant believe in 2022 people actually support the monarchs and believe they work hard and deserve respect! Im glad everyone had a long weekend off and got to enjoy the sunshine and socialising with loved ones, but the monarchy needs to be abolished. The collage above of illustrations combines a few years worth sketches of very angry, visceral rage towards the british empire both historically and present day. I cant look up to someone who represents archaic wealth hoarding and colonialism. The capital of Guyana is called Georgetown, named after George III, the current queens great great great grandpa and until 1966 she still owned the country.
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Visiting the Legacies: London Transport’s Caribbean Workforce exhibit at the London Transport Museum
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When you purchase tickets for Hidden London tours you get 50% off a day ticket for the London Transport Museum (within 30 days), and so I figured while Im in Central London I should make the most of it as I dont plan on being back for a while. Also if youre on Universal Credit, you can get an annual pass for £1 which you can use to gain access to the Museum for free for a whole year! I forgot that I had seen a poster for their latest exhibit celebrating contributions to London Transport from Caribbean immigrants in the decades after WWII. I was stunned to see so many beautiful Caribbean flags featuring prominently throughout the whole exhibition. I so rarely see our Guyanese flag included anywhere, we’re a relatively small nation which doesnt only fit in South America and doesnt only fit in the Caribbean, its both. Anyway! I walked through the exhibit backwards and was met with incredible colours and sparkles, a section which showcased Carnival and the culture, music, joy and community that was brought over by Caribbean people of the Windrush Generation. There was a Carnival head piece with feathers and glittery jewels, an homage to Claudia Jones who was a communist activist from Trinidad and Tobago who began the Notting Hill Carnival as a way for Afro-Caribbean freedom, celebration and community to come together, in the face of racist attacks including the Notting Hill riots of 1958.
Between 1956 and 1970 London Transport recruited across their colonies of Jamaica, Barbados and Trinidad to look for new workers hoping to find more opportunities in their “mother country”. LT was one of the biggest employed in London in 1956, many Caribbean women worked as cooks in the work canteens and brought their own flavours and recipes to the usual menu. The exhibit created a resource which was a Caribbean Cookbook, I flipped through it and to my shock saw a recipe for Guyanese (and Trini) Pholourie and mango dip. Pholourie is a fried delicious ball of goodness made of blended up herbs, spices and spilt peas which I have been eating since I was a toddler, one of the main things which connects me to my Guyanese culture. It was right there in black and white amongst the Jamaican Patties and Bajan Fishcakes! Our Indo-Guyanese dish in the big big London Transport Museum. I will never forget seeing that. There were many social clubs surrounding working for London Transport, For example you could join a cricket team for the underground line you worked on or your local station.
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In 1948 the Empire Windrush left the Caribbean bringing people from across the “commonwealth” to rebuild a war damaged country. that year, britain had introduced the British Nationality Act to encourage (white) workers from across the settler colonies to come back to the motherland to work and build a life. They didnt consider for a second that Black and Brown people from across those colonies would take the opportunity to come to the uk to find work. Many had already lived in the uk during WWII, while stationed here for training and waiting to be called into mainland europe frontlines. Many soldiers from colonised countries were familiar with different parts of the nation so came back to build a new life and to bring their families over for a better opportunity. These were the earlier Caribbean people to arrive and build communities and foundations here, contributing to transport, architecture and healthcare professionals. A series of other Acts would be introduced over the next few decades (and to the present day with the lack of justice for Windrush Scandal victims) which would block and make life for Caribbean immigrants difficult or even immpossible to function here. You have to remember, coloniser countries like the uk built their wealth off of the stolen labour of Enslaved African People, and later Indentured Labour in harsh conditions, as well as all the stolen resources from nations across the world colonised by the british empire. We are here because you were there. We have every right to be here and this exhibition truly highlights the amazing contributions of Caribbean workers who came before us and paved the way in many areas of society from across the public sector and including activism, sports and entertainment.
To my surprise, as I was walking around the book section of the Museum Shop, I looked over and saw Women’s Work stocked amongst the heritage bus and train books!! It was super random but I really couldnt believe my eyes! I wanted to shout and scream at everyone that Im inside this book, but I obviously refrained and shared the joy with my parents and Uncle. What a great day for this Londoner, a descendant of Indo-Guyanese Indentured Labourers, who is free to be an artist and Im being given props for my work on printed pages of a book. My paternal Grandparents came to London as newly graduated architects to work in town planning for the city of westminster, my Maternal Grandparents came to London with a very limited colonised (brainwashed) education and worked in retail on Holloway Road and in the Post Office. It is never lost on me the massive contrast in those existences, experiences, and how they combine within me. Im so lucky to be a Londoner.
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Me and Dad had such a cute moment the week of Fathers Day, taking the opportunity to read about textile history on the back deck in the sun. Women’s Work is officially available to the public, and Dad took the time to have a look through, analysing the pages, reading the Intro, flipping through and taking in the new artists and finally reading my chapter. The book is in chronological order, and its encouraged that readers dip in and out at random if they so choose, not feeling pressured to read from cover to cover in one go. I happen to be the youngest in the book, amongst so many greats from over 100 or so years going back to the Gee’s Bend Quilters of Alabama. Im sure Ive said it before but I’ll say it forever, it is an honour to be featured amongst the same pages of textile legends and others who work in materials and mediums which have been demeaned and labelled “women’s work”. Dad was asking me questions about different artists, movements and processes. It was such a precious moment for us to share. He’s always been so supportive of my art and just anything I want to do. Back when i used to swim competitively he would be driving me around to training three times a week and then competitions further afield as well. Just grateful for him making sure I get to appointments, have my favourite foods and extra treats he knows I’ll like, helping me with finances and just supporting me in every way possible. I couldnt ask for a better Dad. My Uncle was also visiting from Chicago, for his regular visits here to see Grandma. He joined us on Fathers Day where we enjoyed some fish n chips and Mew wanted to get involved im assuming as she jumped up on Dads chair.
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On Instagram I came across Common Threads Press, I believe through @PublicLibraryQuilts who have a zine published there call Many Hands Made a Quilt: Short Histories of Radical Quilting. I treated myself to the above zine by Jess Bailey of Public Library Quilts, Diasporic Threads: Black Women, Fibre and Textiles by Dr Sharbreon Plummer as well as a zine about Lorina Bulwer by Dolly Sen. My day was made when I opened up my post and saw all these extras and a cute note from someone at Common Threads Press who is a fan of my work. With my Uncle visiting my mind was just a bit chaotic and focussing on my Hanecdote 10th Birthday Newsletter has stopped me from cracking on with reading these but I did start on Diasporic Threads introductions which already touched my heart and inspired me. Textile history is so close to my heart, and I cant wait to read more form other peoples perspectives about how textiles has been developed through their own lives, joys and struggles. Diasporic Threads is from the perspective of African American women who come from a long line of makers not only bringing their ancestral knowledge with them when they were enslaved by europeaon colonisers to new land but also creating funds and languages in patchwork used for community, communication and liberation. I will keep you updated with anything I learn through these zines, I am happy to be back in a place where I am able to approach reading again. I have been in full escapism mode via kids cartoons and trash on youtube, but the more I have my own patchwork/quilting journey the more I want to connect to people in a wider context who use these mediums as well.
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I showed my Uncle Ev (who is a graphic designer, typeface and printing press enthusiast) the illustrations I have recently had printed onto felt to use for applique. He was impressed with how good the quality was of a full rainbow gradient I tried out for future reference. It got his mind working when I said they also print on 3mm felt compared to the 1mm I went with. He was wondering what could be made from the thicker material, and came up with an idea for something colourful and tactile for Grandma. He suggested I include scans of the hand embroidered patches I made with my brother for her 70th birthday, as well as other bold and bright drawings of things she might like and recognise. The printing company I use are ready to deliver sometimes within 24 hours and so I ordered that night and it arrived within less than 48 hours of the ideas conception. The felt looked amazing, and mum cut out the 16 motifs neatly in a hurry as Grandma was visiting again the next day. Uncle Ev had an idea to somehow attach the images together to create a textile kind of book which would be tactile and colourful and interesting for her. I already had brass ring clasps which were perfect for this and mum hole punched each shape for us and then assembled the components.
As her Dementia (PPA) has developed over the years, Grandma became obsessed with organising and reorganising the years of incredibly neat filing and organisation she spent years cultivating. It became quite distressing as she would become possessive, living in in chaos as she attempted to hold on to any control of her past life and past self as she could muster. Now that she is living in a care home, she is constantly picking up random things and keeping hold of them, keeping her hands busy and mind occupied. We left these felt tactile books on the table in front of us and she reached out to grab them, not letting them go all afternoon. I believe she recognised the patches, even attempting to read some of the words on them. We kept two here and gave her one pile to take with her. She kept flipping them over, looking at them, attempting to organise them and arrange them. It seemed like the perfect object for her. It was a special moment to share with the family, especially Mum and my Uncle Ev who both collaborated with me to make this for her.
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We made a few tactile, colourful felt books for Grandma who has Dementia/PPA.
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(Justice 4 Grenfell, 2020.) 5 years on and no one has been arrested or held accountable for the murder of 72 people by purposeful neglect. In the richest borough in London this atrocity happened so the rich could get richer. A tragedy which could have and should have been avoided. Residents had a paper trail dating back years, predicting this would happen due to neglect and dangerous decisions made for profit instead of people. To this day, thousands of people across the nation live in housing with this unsafe cladding, forcing residents into scary living situations and unable to sell because of the properties dangers so they are basically trapped there and made to pay financially meanwhile high-rise owners and investors have avoided all accountability. Its a disgrace, its state sanctioned murder and neglect.
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I had so much fun this month continuing my experimentations with dying fabrics! This is to be used in a new quilt I am planning on making, to commemorate the successful Embroidery Colouring Book kickstarter campaign from last year. I want to use Shibori (Japanese tie dying techniques) in this case a triangular folding method to create fabrics in a rainbow of colours to use for patchwork. For now I focussed on blue dyes as mum already had a few different shades and I got some in the cheap tie dye kit I bought on ebay. Some blues were more saturated, others I added too much water and it turned out kind of pale and faded but it was a journey of new discovery. I mentioned this in my 10 Years of Hanecdote Newsletter but I had a big surprise during this dying process, because in my mind, I started dying the fabric to use for cutting up and patchworking. When I undid the rubber bands and unravelled the folded fabric, washing off the excess dye and revealing the outcome I started to get so excited. Every sheet of fabric looked amazing! I almost dont want to cut them up thats how good I thought they looked. The process actually inspired me so much that I started thinking outside the box and my mind was snowballing into new ideas and uses for these tie dye textiles. The was really exciting, and a feeling I have missed about being an artist, making and experimenting. My embroidery is rigid in some ways, once I have drawn something I know in my head how it will be embroidered and so its just a matter of patience and time to get the stitches done. This was different because you use dye and fabric and folds, but ultimately you have no control over how it all looks in the end. I collaged all the blue textiles together on procreate so that I could experiment further with the new ideas I had in mind.
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