I attended the online reclaiming the colonial gaze talk with Annu Palakunna Matthew, Stacey Tyrell and Tayo Adekunle. It was insightful to see how artists with roots to colonisation use photography as a medium to empower and inform people about the complex history of colonisation. Some things that caught my attention and I would like to research further are:
-The way historical images were staged in order to make the surroundings look ‘more exotic’ in order to excite European audiences.
-Yemoja – self portraits discussing how culture and religion survived through the slave trade
-British ancestors thought they’d be Welcomed to the UK with open arms after the war however this was not true – they were rejected and seen as others
-Colonial war goddesses. Where have they come from and how were they used in society. Are artworks of these figures still being exhibited – what are the moral complications around this in the context of mythology
-Using art to make unaccessible academic readings available to everyone – I’m making Welsh readings accessible.
