EVEWRIGHT, a multi-disciplinary visual installation artist, challenges public environments to make spaces for Black British stories to exist and thrive. He creates mirrors where he can see and recognise himself to instigate conversations in the mainstream about what it means to be Black and British in the UK today.
This pop-up exhibition is based on a site-specific installation originally staged in Colchester, Essex in 2018 by artist EVEWRIGHT, who took over and transformed S&S Caribbean Takeaway, the only Caribbean-owned working takeaway in Colchester. The idea was to create an innovative and engaging installation in an informal setting owned and controlled by the Caribbean community.
This installation has now been transferred to Lloyds Banking Group, 14th Floor Restaurant at their London Wall building, which has been taken over, re-purposed and transformed into a site-specific art and sound experience from (30th October-29th November). The installation commemorates and celebrates the lives of 12 Windrush elders.
The installation features a memory wall with photographs, documents and memorabilia of the lives of 12 Windrush elders at the entrance to the serving area. In the dining area of the restaurant the front profile of the original takeaway in Colchester is featured and eight tables are covered with images of the elders and their memories. Visitors to the installation can hear the elders’ stories about their experiences of coming to the UK and their contributions to British society. Using your own device download a QR reader and scan the QR code on images on the tables in the installation.
The elders are: Alford Gardner, Lenore Sykes, Alton Watkins, Tina Aparicio, Don Sydney, Gloria Whyte, Hamilton Williams, Nell Green, Carlton Darrell, Carol Sydney, Allan Wilmot, Clarice Reid.
As a Black British artist EVEWRIGHT said, “This work is about the sharing, celebrating and preservation of our stories and history. Taking over Lloyds bank is an example of how the corporate world, through art, are now embracing the contributions Pioneers from the Windrush Generation have made to British Society as a whole. Art is a good way of ensuring the stories of these elders are remembered. Their presence has left a legacy and impact on future generations. This installation is informative, educational and immersive and I am delighted to see how it engages a diverse range of people to experience and enjoy. “
Project Producer Ionie Richards said, “It was a rewarding experience for us to record the lives of ordinary but extraordinary people from the Windrush Generation most were in their 80s or 90s. This installation will help raise awareness and bring to new audiences’ first-hand accounts of untold stories of a disappearing generation before it is lost. As a legacy of this project these audio stories are preserved by Essex Records Office to share with the public.”
This project is in partnership with Group Transformation and Retail part of the Lloyds Banking Group and supported using public funding by Arts Council England.
A special opening on Saturday 23 November from 12pm–6pm will be the last chance for visitors to see the full Caribbean Takeaway installation in its current setting at the Migration Museum London.