Image/Sound/Text:
My Journey to London
It was September 2006 when I finally packed my bags and left my friends and family back home in Barbados to travel to London where I would pursue a degree in Arts Management. I decided to venture out on this journey in order to fulfil a dream I had to develop arts and culture in my country and the Caribbean. This desire developed due to my involvement within this arena for the past fifteen years, as a dancer.
There is no particular reason why I choose to study in London, but the course which I found randomly on the internet seemed to match all the ideas I had to move culture further in my country. Arts Management was not the topic that I intended to pursue but after reading the prospectus that was offered by London South Bank University online I just knew that London was the place for me and South Bank University was the school. From my research on the internet I felt that the experience offered through the course could expose me to the cultural diversity and environment that I thought matched my career objectives.
My involvement in the Tate Encounters project came about through one of the units that I enjoyed during my first year at school. This unit had elements within it that talked about the visual image in today’s society and I found that to be quite interesting. Being involved in the project has sparked a deeper interest and understanding on how I view art at the Tate and how I view the images I am exposed to in my everyday life. I have realised that my background in Barbados has an impact on how I look at spaces particularly the space at Tate Britain.
My first encounter with the Tate was when our lecturer decided to take the class to the gallery. For me it was the first time I ever walked from Elephant and Castle along Waterloo Road onto Lambeth across the bridge and finally to the Millbank. I had only been in London for about 8 weeks, so it was such a wonderful experience. When we arrived at the gallery I immediately fell in love with the open space on the outside; my first thoughts was that it was a picture of beauty and the space outside some how reminded me of my home in Barbados. After the presentation by some of the members of staff of the gallery I grabbed the opportunity to get involved with the research project at Tate Britain.
When I became involved in the project my first experience at the gallery then was also a memorable one. As I walked into the art gallery the first exhibition brought back memories. I slowly walked down the side of the room gazing at the work of another artist wondering what inspired him. The room was silent and the floor boards creaked beneath my feet as I attempted to commence the task of finding my favourite colour. Blue was my first thought, but not just any blue, colours that made up blue or had blue in them. Blue symbolises peace and serenity to me, the water is reflection. This could mark the beginning of my journey into the experience of Tate Britain and London.
As the project progressed the pilot web site was launched so we could start plotting our images and ideas. I started to formulate ideas and search for a deeper understanding to why certain artwork at the Tate appealed to me more than others and why I became more interested in the space outside of the Tate rather than inside. Firstly, I wanted people to see what I was looking at but from my perspective. Therefore I came up with the term “Caribbean eyes”. I then came up with the idea to post pictures of the Caribbean to highlight the possible connections that were being formed in my looking and to try to understand what impact living in the Caribbean has on the way I see things. At this time the research team gave me a cell phone to capture all that I was viewing in London and in Barbados. Some images I took consisted of Bridgetown - one of Barbados’s financial cities, my neighborhood, and my cultural experience.
Caribbean Eyes
On my return from Barbados I engaged in a series of interviews with David Dibosa and Sarah Thomas. These interviews focused on the links that I was trying to formulate between my journeys to London from Barbados and highlight why and how they could have an impact on how I view the space at Tate Britain. Using exerpts from the interviews combined with images that I have taken in London and Barbados, Sarah Thomas and I collaborated in producing this introductory film about my journey and how it impacts on the way I see things.