My globe revealed!

I was recently commissioned to design and paint a globe sculpture for The World Reimagined - a ground breaking national art education project (the first of its kind in the UK) designed to transform how we understand the transatlantic trade of enslaved Africans.

I feel honoured to have been given the chance to take part in this racial justice project as it is something which has always been so close to my heart.

With globes as our canvases, artists were asked to bring to life the ‘Journey of Discovery’ in trails across the host cities of Birmingham, Bristol, Leeds, Leicester, Liverpool, London and Swansea. Each trail has 10 globes (9 themed globes and 1 community learning globe). There are also many smaller globes on display throughout the UK which were designed and painted by local schools.

My globe which falls under the theme of ‘Stolen Legacy’ was painted in my home City of Bristol and will be on display in the City of Leicester throughout the trail which runs until the end of October (click here for the Leicester trail map and information).

In November all 103 globe sculptures will be auctioned off by Bonhams auctioneers to help raise money for racial justice charities.

My globe title ‘Ancestral Connections’ was suggested to me by Bajan husband and I am very grateful to him for this and for all the black history knowledge he has shared with me over the years. I am also grateful to the Government of Barbados for admitting me as a citizen some years ago and am very proud to have designed something which connects with the island.

For more updates on my globe and the trail itself please give me a follow on my Instagram page.

Stolen Legacy - artist statement

When we think of the word ‘legacy’ we often think of it in terms of inherited money or property. In the context of the transatlantic trade of enslaved Africans, it usually represents money which has been made by European nations from slavery. This aspect of slavery was never taught to us at school (not much about slavery was), but this money - money gained from the commodification of our fellow human beings - has made the UK and other western countries very wealthy and has also brought with it associated and inherited freedoms and advantages.

Human legacy

There is another side to this topic though - the human side - the legacy that is part of a person’s history. These are things that remain from an earlier time; customs and traditions that are passed down through society and families; precious legacies that shape us all as people, and tragically this vile trade robbed many Africans of their ancient customs and traditions once they were taken to the Americas.

Drumming

Drumming, for example, an integral part of African culture, was forbidden by the plantation owners who were fearful of the practice and saw it as a means of cultural resistance. In Barbados in the 1600s they even instituted a law to outlaw the playing of drums, with one of the penalties being death! This happened in many other parts of the Americas too.

Barbados Tuk bands

In response to this, the enslaved people began adapting their African derived music to sound like that of European marching bands by blending the military style beats they learned with the rhythms of their traditional African beats. They made drums out of local materials to substitute those they had left behind in West Africa and these bands became known in Barbados as tuk bands - ‘tuk’ being derived from the Scottish word ‘touk’, meaning to beat or sound an instrument.

This indigenous musical form is symbolic of revolution in Barbadian cultural music, and you can still find tuk bands playing today at major events, festivals and holidays in Barbados.

Strength and resilience

The above example highlights the strength, resilience and adaptability of the enslaved people as they tried to keep hold of their treasured customs whilst dealing with the cruel reality of living and working in appalling conditions - thousands of miles and worlds apart from the homes, families and lives they were forced to leave behind.

Despite everything certain customs and traditions have survived throughout the years – some albeit in different forms (having been influenced by European culture) - but others have disappeared, and this represents yet another huge legacy that has been stolen from the African people.

Background to design

The aim of my design was to highlight the strength and power of the enslaved people as they attempted to prevent their African traditions from being stolen. I also wanted to show how they fought back at every stage by (for example) making and playing their instruments to sound like the music of European marching bands to avoid the death penalty, and by revolting against the slave masters - the final ‘Bussa Rebellion’ being the largest in the history of Barbados (taking its name from the African-born slave, Bussa, who led the uprising).

Ghana and Barbados

My globe features musical instruments, symbols and tribal masks from the Ashanti region of Ghana, West Africa as this was where the captured people last saw their homeland. I have also focused on the Republic of Barbados and it’s Tuk bands due to my links with the island and the fact that myself and my husband both have dual citizenship of Britain and Barbados. This type of music is also a big favourite with my Bajan family.

My globe has a backdrop of the sugar cane fields and palm trees of Barbados and the foreground features drummers from both countries, dancers, a horn player (yes, horns were banned as well!) and stilt walkers. I have also featured the yellow oleander (a poisonous flower found in Barbados) to represent the fact that the enslaved people would sometimes, in other acts of rebellion, try to poison the slave masters.

Finally, I have used the broken trident from Barbados’s national flag - broken to represent independence from the UK - set against the background of an African sun.

I hope I have succeeded in giving my globe energy and power to represent a type of musical uprising.