An alternative A-Z of Empire

Last Sunday I went over to Norwich for a nice Sunday roast, and then to Norwich Castle. The long awaited keep restoration project has been delayed again and so it is still not open after around three years so far.

I came across a piece which I hadn't seen before as it has been installed since my last visit, called 'An A-Z of Empire' by the Singh Twins that caught my eye. It's a light box with coloured panels offering an A-Z of Empire with some alternative facts and rhymes about places and events linked with colonialism. It would certainly make a talking point with groups.

Here's a description from the Norfolk Museums service:

The Singh Twins describe the concept of the jigsaw puzzle – a single image comprised of many separate but interlinked pieces – as symbolically representing the nature of colonial history as a global story; individual but interconnected narratives shaped by different experiences and viewpoints. The Singh Twins describe the purpose of the work as not presenting a comprehensive, systematic, or chronological account of colonial history but, rather, a selection of facts, observations and anecdotes that collectively serve to represent key moments and characteristics.

Such an approach, suggest the artists, challenges popular misperceptions about the nature of Empire, stimulating debate about this important chapter of our collective human experience. In doing so, the work directly addresses many of the legacies of empire and colonialism such as migration, multiculturalism and debates around race and racism, and invites the viewer to think about their own responses to these issues:

As you read this A to Zee
You may choose to disagree
So add your voice to what’s been told
And help more stories to unfold
Because this artwork has an aim -
Not to lay the guilt or blame
But both to challenge and reveal
How different people think and feel
About a past - which, if it could
Be much more widely understood
Would help to pave a better way
Of living in the world today.

I took pictures of all the A-Z images.

Comments

On the trail of the 'Detectorists'

As I was in Suffolk last week, I headed for Framlingham as I knew that there were various locations from the series 'Detectorists' and also a wonderful pub just a few miles away where we could go for lunch. Parked up in the Market Square, and from there it was a short walk to several locations. Here are plenty more on a map. Managed to track down four locations: the outside of the 'Two Brewers' pub (the interior was filmed elsewhere), Lance's upstairs flat, the shop where Lance's former partner sells Spiritual goods and scented candles, and the village hall where the DMDC met. Here's me outside said hut. Don't forget the uniformbooks book of course. Still available and an excellent read.

Jonathan Meades on Sustainability

Have blogged about Jonathan Meades before, and his particular presentation style which I like... Lunchtime today was spent in the company of the first in the series "Off-Kilter", made for BBC Scotland and was about Aberdeen . I liked the look of the area known as Fitty. Towards the end, he moved on to Donald Trump and his controversial plans for a golf course in the sand dunes close to Aberdeen. He called the planned development "New Trumpton on Sea" and talked about gated communities and their absentee residents. He riffed on the idea of ' sustainability ' and how every architect and development trumpeted its sustainable credentials. New words like : "Sustain-abulous" and "Sustain-astic" ! Called it "architectural correctness"... "It's a slogan of conformist unoriginality..." "The very act of making a building is energy hungry and vastly wasteful even if the building is an eco-igloo of Fairtrade otter dropp...

Edexcel Cultural Geography Contexts

Those teachers who have opted for the Edexcel 'A' level specification in the UK (for students aged 16-18), there is a unit called "The World of Cultural Diversity" . Today, the pre-release titles were announced. Students will be expected to prepare OPTION 4: The World of Cultural Diversity • Explore what is meant by a global culture, how it is defined and, if it exists, what its characteristics are. • Research contrasting locations, some of which show the effects of cultural globalisation and others which seem to be resisting the process. Would be interested in hearing the thoughts of any blog readers on any suggested resources or thoughts on these particular contexts...

Cultural Geography Blog

Search This Blog