Assemblage of digital photographs on vinyl adhesive, graphite on wall, (dimensions variable)

The ongoing body of work draws on African and Celtic mythologies, deep-time perspectives, and ancestral healing practices. To consider the conditions surrounding personal and collective memory in relation to displacement. Through a re-storying and re-storing of ancient migration stories with wider lived experiences of people of colour in Cornwall now— the work as a gathering and space making tool, allows a speculative space for healing to emerge. Asking; “What happens when we think about our Afro diasporic experience alongside granite?”

In Living Memory acts as a guide, following a trail left by the ancestors — to bring together black and mixed heritage women artists living in Cornwall, through walking, talking and sounding workshops across West Penwith. This artist-led collaborative process explores the materiality of embodied knowledges and living archives of marginalised communities in the South West. The photographs trace moments of gathering at sacred sites, from Lanyon Quoit to Sancreed Beacon, and the neolithic monuments, burial chambers, and sacred wells in between.

In Living Memory was a six-month research project, generously supported by Arts Council England and Newlyn Art Gallery & the Exchange. Emerging from a sister project; Deep Recovery, which was commissioned by Radar, Loughborough University in association with the British Geological Survey Archives, (2023).

Artwork courtesy of the artist, with additional image credit and project production by Liz Howell.

With thanks to participants and co-creators; Barby Asante, Maria Christoforidou, Caroline Deeds, Catherine Lucktaylor, Angeline Morrison, and Foluke Taylor. 

Read more about the project here.