I was born and raised in London, a city that I consider home although my heritage and homeland is Ghana. The experience of living in a city such as London is unique since I was exposed to and integrated myself with the diversity of culture, language and understanding brought about by many established immigrants and first-generation immigrant children like myself, something that I may not have experienced elsewhere.
Though there is acceptance and appreciation of such cultures in the UK some people react with discrimination, intolerance of all spectrums. And being who I am in the UK, it’s not uncommon to hear of your loved ones or a friend of a friend who have unfortunately experienced dehumanising even fatal experiences.
George Floyd wasn’t just a one-time occurrence, but rather it highlighted overt and covert racism that has been happening for years, not just the US but also the UK and all over the world. I used this opportunity to express the rawness of how I felt not just during the London protests of 2020 (although unable to attend) but the aftermath whilst in a pandemic. It was a time to speak, to educate, to mourn, to help and to listen. Though there was a focus on one people, millions of other peoples and voices joined together in one voice and unity, for a common cause.
This is why I call my project “EIDOS”: the distinctive expression of the cognitive or intellectual character of a culture or social group. Despite the fact we all have backgrounds, culture, tradition, language, we stand for a person and humans who are treated unjustly. As well as Floyd inspiring my work, music is what I used to help evoke certain emotions because music is able to transcend culture and language it can be understood by all. Videos/ photography of the protestors and what they wore inspired my sketching and collaging process.
Follow Emmanuela
Credit to @poetic.photo and @helenapourzand for protesting photos.
