Berbice, Demerara and Essequibo to the Black Isle, Scotland

Location

Country: Other
City: in conservation

These three bronze pieces were made by Ashanti Harris in 2019 at Edinburgh Sculpture Workshop. They are part of a wider research project the artist undertook that resulted in a series of bronze works titled The Forgotten Diaspora, which honour the three Guyanese women: Doll Thomas, Elizabeth Junor and Susanne Kerr who had a presence in Scotland in the 18th and 19th centuries. Taking this research as a starting point, Harris began to explore the historical presence and hidden legacies of this ‘forgotten diaspora’, from her own perspective as a Guyanese woman living in Scotland. Her aim was to uncover the impact these three historical figures had on their various communities and the lessons we could learn from their extraordinary life stories. The series was first exhibited together at Civic Room, Glasgow, in 2019. The installation brought the bronzes together with a soundscape and guided meditation titled ‘History Haunts the Body. An embodied text to be read aloud as a process of amplifying a quiet history’, textile sculptures, and a series of performances made in collaboration with Scotland-based women of African and Caribbean heritage.

Ashanti Harris is a visual artist, teacher and researcher, working with dance, performance and installation. Ashanti’s work focuses on themes of mobilities – the movement of people, ideas and things as well as the broader social implications of these movements, specifically in relation to the diaspora of West Africa and the Caribbean. Ashanti's current research is concerned with the body as a repository of incorporated histories which are communicated through dance and movement practices. As part of her creative practice, she also works collaboratively as part of the collective Glasgow Open Dance School – facilitating movement workshops, research groups and collaborative performances; and as co-lead artist for Project X – a creative education programme, platforming the dances of the African diaspora.

Places

Subjects

Materials & Techniques

Artist

Ashanti Harris (1989 - )

Title

Berbice, Demerara and Essequibo to the Black Isle, Scotland

Date

2019

Medium

Bronze (3 plaques)

Dimensions

height: 16 cm width: 22 cm depth: 2 cm

Acquisition

Purchased from the artist, March 2024, Art XUK project 2023-24

Provenance

The Artist, Scotland UK; from whom purchased by UK Government Art Collection, 05 April 2024

GAC number

19298/1