BIANCA SAUNDERS
Interview with my mum, born in Tanzania, later moved to India, Gujarat and finally moved to England.
Which place did you feel most like yourself?
I was too young in Tanzania to remember how I felt about myself, but I enjoyed staying in India with my own people. At the start it was lonely in the UK, it was a complete culture change. I didn’t seem to make friends, the language barrier made it uncomfortable for me to try. Nothing was similar. The food was the first thing I couldn’t cope with, after being used to proper food for so long.
Were you comfortable with the fact that you were a different race to everyone around you?
At the beginning I felt very excluded, whenever I went shopping, I felt like people would look at me funny, and generalise me to be uncultured, just because I didn’t share the same culture as them. But that still happens to this day.
Was there anything you saw that deeply impacted you, but wasn’t in the right place to speak out about it?
When I saw the way some English people were treating their kids.
Was there ever a point where you had to change the type of person you were/wanted to be in order to fit in?
When I first started working in England, it was my first ever job and I didn’t know how to interact with everyone else around me, and how to feel included. I was always rejected by English store owners when I first tried getting a job, which was probably the hardest part of moving. I stopped wearing Asian clothes wherever I went. Its fine to stop wearing Asian clothes to work, as they had uniform. I stopped wearing them whenever I went out then, or even at home. No one else was wearing things like that so I felt awkward.
Do you regret not wearing your cultural clothes?
Yes.
When you had kids, did you expect them to feel excluded for being Asian?
No. Not at all.
Why?
Because my kids were born in England.
How would you respond if you learned that your kids felt excluded from society because of their race?
I would be worried, like why are my kids thinking like this, but I’d feel bad. You can’t change what colour your skin is, so there’s no reason to have shame about it.
Did you ever feel like you were a part of English culture?
No, I never really fit in.
Do you feel a part of it now?
No, and it’s honestly comfortable.
Do you think that’s a good thing?
Yes, because I’m Indian so it felt like my responsibility to remain inside that culture.
Was there ever a point where you felt like you couldn’t talk to your kids about race?
No.
Why?
Why would I feel that way?
When you first moved here, did you ever feel like there was something about English culture that you knew you’d never fit into?
Yes, but I didn’t care. It wasn’t really any of my business. I wanted to be happy with who I was myself, and what I was used to.
Did anyone ever tell you that you had to be a certain way now that you’re here?
Yes, but I preferred learning from the world around me instead, by myself, which I did.
Is there anything else that you used to do in order to fit in, which you hate the idea of now?
No.
Do you think there is any part of Indian culture which has been westernised?
Yes, definitely. Western people wearing our clothes for costume, wearing Bindi’s as decoration, celebrating Holi, enjoying our food although they used to look down upon our food for the smell.
Do you think that’s ever going to stop?
No, it won’t. They are all just going to grow into it.
Analysis
From this interview, i've learnt how much my mum was held back in life, even as far as finding a job, and comparing it to my problems growing up, it makes them seem trivial. i admire how much more difficult it was in a real world situation for her, rather than me having trouble making friends as a child, a seemingly trivial issue, now that i look back on it.
i noticed that a lot of problems are visual, the fact that my mum looked different, people saw differences in mannerisms, clothing etc. each problem creates a visual problem. when something is out of the ordinary, thats when its questioned and possibly looked down upon, simply for its surface image. most images tend to have the norm of being clean, concise and similar to everything else around it. however, later when its westernised, its visual image is "beautified" into something more subtle and socially acceptable e.g. westernising bindis by pairing it with non-cultural clothing and jewelry, as its combined with western outfits and events like music festivals, it makes bindis seem like more of a norm, but it's still something "new" and "exciting" for western people.
i think this creates a clear link to my theme of the rabari tribe, as their traditional jewelry, clothing, tattoos and overall image is so heavy and full, it is then watered down to the smaller things such as a bangle or a bracelet. i think the direct contrast of not wanting to achieve a watered down cultural image is also interesting, because its so contradicting to how things are westernised whenever someone pleases, but this same person can highlight their differences through conventional western culture also. essentially, they are choosing at what point they want to dip into other cultures in an inappropriate way, and choosing when they want to distance themselves from this culture because of its "negative" aspects in society, similar to what my mum experienced e.g. the smell of food or the difference in language and mannerisms. the difference here is the power of choice that everyone else had, but my mum didn't.
now focusing solely on vision and the power of choice, i think this is reflected in western beauty advertisement: clear skin, anti aging etc. western culture allows choice for how they want to look, with the advancement in science and technology which allows this. in contrast, these advancements are not in rural tribe areas in gujarat, so they are embraced, which is an environment i admire. a popular trend in western culture at the moment is "youth" everyone wants to look younger with clear, soft skin, but in traditional tribes it is the elderly that are respected, the beauty conventions that the elderly women in the tribes create e.g. the tattoos, is something that the younger tribe members strive to achieve. also there are no trends that jump around, the traditional nature is engaged with and respected so much, that it never dies. however western culture promoted the idea that everything dies, and we all need to move onto the next thing rapidly, to stay alive.
BIANCA SAUNDERS Ibrahim Kamara
Ibrahim Kamara - Soft Criminal
The show features photographs taken around Johannesburg, where the garments were created and the whole thing was produced. The work defies easy description. It might be rooted in Africa, rooted in fashion photography, but it explores the small niches in between. Against a backdrop of New York City, the images take on a new dimension. “We’re from London so we could have easily shown it in London,” Ibrahim explains. “New York is a good challenge. There aren’t many young British creatives presenting artwork out here on this scale. For us it’s a different zone. If anything, the odds are against us. We made it hard for ourselves, but we thought, ‘How can we put on a show that would get people to visit and get them talking?’”
The link i found between my theme and this show is the twist on traditional culture, to show a negative or positive aspect in which it has been changed. however, aside from the interesting use of design and props that creates the visual power behind these images, i find the backstory to how this show was created more interesting, in terms of how cultural boundaries challenged the team:
Across the whole project, Ib, Gareth and Kristin-Lee have just one regret: not being able to fly one of their muses to the United States. “We wanted to bring one of our South African models, our fit model actually, over for the show but couldn't because of visa issues. They made it so hard for us.” Cultural endeavours should never be stopped by governments. It’s infuriating to see that, even today, artistic projects can be halted this way. “It really made us think about the unfairness of the world too. The west can go to Africa, but Africa cannot come to the west. Especially because we went there to do whatever we wanted, creatively speaking. We were welcomed!”
BIANCA SAUNDERS Troy Michie
Troy Michie
Their Faces Are Cymballs 2011-13
Cut magazine paper, 8.5" x 11"
Michie hides or displaces identity through the use of cut up and rearranged photos, whilst conveying the cultural background throughout this. the idea of what is being displaced can be inferred as anything, and i think this is what makes the work interesting. there is neither negative nor positive aspect to it at initial glance, but when i relate it to my concept of westernisation, i can make assumptions that i can take inspiration from in this.
the way that i find something hidden is the way in that you cant decipher everything thats in the image straight away, and this makes you continue to keep looking around and it keeps the viewer intrigued.
for example, i think the way of cutting out the significance of the face and placing it somewhere insignificant and replacing the actual face with something that has no significance, shows the way in which pure forms of culture that loses its actual meaning through it being given labels in an attempt to make it more refined for a western world. and the reason behind its insignificance is due to the lack of respect and tradition given to these forms of culture when it is hijacked by western people, as they just use it for their own image and gain. the raw and unedited vision to these images are also something that i admire, because the traditional nature stays in this sense, despite the many variations of displaced meaning that the overall image is given.
image source: https://www.troymichie.com/
BIANCA SAUNDERS
Home Base India - Radha Kumar
This extract from Kumar’s photographic collection amusingly captures a common sense of miscommunication between Indians, in the hopes to grasp a western image from moving to England. The fact that her grandmother completely disapproved of this is also something common amongst families that I have witnessed myself too.
I used this in my research because I wanted an authenticity around my concept, again to help with making it personal. I think a way that I can visually reflect authenticity in my work, not necessarily to others but to myself, is by using materials that have a real history or familiarity to me. stories like this, is also something that i find reflects authenticity, especially when other people in the same community can recognise the familiarity within it, showing how something like westernisation is a real known problem.