Jerusalem: Redux
Digital photographic images. Slideshow. 2019-2020
The concept of William Blake's Jerusalem takes shape as a realm of compassionate and spiritually driven resistance. An idea that remains defiant in countering the post-Brexit position of the UK government and it’s populist stance. In particular it challenges the unrealistic, narrow idea of national identity that was proposed as being a core value of sovereignty. The essence of the work revolves around exploring identity, significance, and equity in society across the multi-cultural heritage of the UK. Where individuals and objects reverberate with the profound implication that a nation cannot be reduced to suit prejudice based in the ignorance of racial, historical, and cultural realities.
The approach in the project was one of fluidity and adaptation and it possessed a momentum that resisted a conventional narrative boundaries. Instead, the aim was to empower viewers to independently establish associations (or not) between images and weave their own narratives as they see fit. In 2019, the work was showcased at the V&A in London (where it was presented as a projected slideshow to accompany a performance for the Cohere Project) as part of Refugee Week and at Home, Manchester. A short sequence of printed images from the work was exhibited at the Hull International Photography Festival.
