The concept of William Blake's Jerusalem takes shape for me as a realm of compassionate, spiritually driven resistance. An idea that remains defiant in countering the post-Brexit position of the UK government and it’s populist stance. In particular I wanted to challenge the narrow and unrealistic idea of national identity that was being proposed. The core essence of the work revolves around exploring identity and significance, where objects and individuals reverberate with the profound implication that nation cannot be reduced along racial or cultural lines. The approach was fluid and adaptive, possessing a momentum that resisted conventional narrative boundaries or constraints. The aim was to empower viewers to independently establish associations (or not) and weave their own narratives as they see fit.
The work was showcased for Refugee Week at the V&A in London (where it was presented as a projected slideshow to accompany a performance for the Cohere Project) and Home, Manchester. A short sequence of images from the work was also presented for exhibition at the Hull International Photography Festival in 2019.
The work was showcased for Refugee Week at the V&A in London (where it was presented as a projected slideshow to accompany a performance for the Cohere Project) and Home, Manchester. A short sequence of images from the work was also presented for exhibition at the Hull International Photography Festival in 2019.
