SUTTON DIVERSITY MURAL PART 1
I am super happy to announce that I won the bid to create a MURAL for Sutton Town centre.
MY INSPIRATION
The starting point for the work's design is my own situation as an immigrant and some collages I created in 2014 in response to this theme.
In these collages I used cultural and natural elements to reflect about my own history and identity, whilst being here in the UK.
Thinking about the expression ‘the fabric of society’, I used patterns from traditional African and Asian fabrics, combined with Black & White portraits (these will be taken during workshops I will deliver as I hope for this to be an inclusive process, to reflect on the rich and varied traditions and cultures, that conform Sutton’s society. I collaged all these elements to create a sense of layers, juxtaposition and interaction.
The workshops will focus on discussing belonging and cultural exchange, using collage to create patterns inspired by social and cultural connections. The participants will draw and stick colours and images which are relevant to them and their cultural heritages. Some elements from the participant's works will be included in the final design.
The chosen form will resemble a branch or a tree alluding to the London Borough of Sutton’s tree symbol.
I would like to use broken tiles to create the final piece, firstly for their durability, easy care and vibrancy of colours. Secondly, because tiles had been in my artwork from the start of my career, when as a student I had to buy my materials in building sites ,taking advantage of their conceptual connotations. I like how the fragments come together to create a full picture, just like the people in our society.
During the workshops I will also photograph volunteers, for later editing and adding to the tiles . Hopefully, this part of the process will help them feel empowered and take ownership over the final work.
The workshops are a celebration of the diverse communities in Sutton and how we can share our different cultures and traditions.