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| Jem Perucchini's 'Rebirth of a Nation' Brixton Station's Header Mural Photo Credit: Angus Mill |
In one of the units of my Writing MA at the Royal College of Art we were asked to individually write a text in response to an Art on the Underground commission for Brixton Stations's header wall and the historical context of the Brixton murals. We were also asked to individually create a five-minute audio piece, which will be hosted on the Art on the Underground website sometime in June (approx).
My final audio piece is now available to listen to via SoundCloud (above) and the full transcript is available to read (below). 'Brixton Revisited'; 'Brixton Remembered' is a second-person spoken word vignette-style narrative in two parts —
'Brixton Revisited' expresses my perspective of returning to a place you haven't visited for ten years; seeing the place with fresh eyes. 'Brixton Remembered' reflects a perspective from Kim Watson, a friend, who has lived in Brixton for thirty years. You could say the whole piece is a reflection of time and place, past and present.
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| Brixton Station's Header Mural Photo Credit: Angus Mill |
We also individually provided a short text for a leaflet to be distributed at Brixton tube station. The leaflet is to serve as an advert for the audio and will be distributed to Brixton tube travellers. We worked with graphic designer Fraser Muggeridge and had input on the leaflet design as the project progressed. Two pieces of my artwork were also selected for inclusion in the leaflet's design.
Brixton Revisited
Brixton looks both familiar and new,
like a foreign country you are returning to after many years.
An exile you don't even remember.
The buildings are mostly the same.
Morleys is still firm,
though its prices have fluctuated to levels
that exclude rather than include.
Business as usual trumps community development.
The details have changed: the younger generation with smartphones,
directing their rights of passage into their virtual life,
electric bikes and bikes for hire taking up space,
protruding dangerously misplaced.
Cyclists on single speed bikes,
confronted with potholes that bite back.
Gentrification has a presence
with pop-up shops floating, trying,
to fit in somehow.
Reggae rhythms, bass lines and crisp soundscapes
the one staple that continues to express itself everywhere you go
You can easily relate.
Refreshing black cultural shops flourishing
in their upmarket presentations
and their attractive holistic goods,
their sweet meditative sounds
soothing your shopping experience.
Restaurants from every which way,
chain stores spreading their wings
offering light refreshments,
coffee, bubble tea — sometimes free —
encouraging lengthy queues.
The hustle and bustle surrounding the tube hasn't changed;
that you know you can rely on
you hear police and ambulance sirens
flow as per usual with their fast-paced energy.
The new, exquisite tube-header mural
is mesmerizing
you stay transfixed on its impact
you absorb its largeness; its entirety envelopes a stunning yet glowing earthly look.
The Windrush mural greets you
— two front-line pieces with warm tones
— as you step into Brixton Village, with its edgy vibe
You need to feel this yourself; it's much more of an experience than a sighting.
Brixton Remembered
So, what does Brixton mean to you?
Especially since you have been living here for 30 years.
Why Brixton?
You told me that it was reminiscent of Liverpool, where you were born, although you mentioned that the diversity of the people here wasn't as mixed back then.
Originally, you could say Brixton was perceived
as a bit 'ghettoish' following the 1981 uprisings.
It's now quite the middle-class enclave
It's gone a bit trendy.
Brixton has also become a constant nightlife
of drinking and eating.
You see, it's just bar after bar after restaurant after restaurant.
You know this is for the younger generation
and it's an overpowering new energy
an ever-evolving new nation.
Brixton Village is a prime example
that has seen the most significant changes to its landscape
over the last five years.
The beating heart of Brixton can't be replaced despite the fact that
the established multi-cultural and multi-generational community
is being lost.
You are concerned that the upmarket shops and offices
are displacing the local market traders
and you are also concerned that
the traditional community of Windrush descendants have
been steadily — over the last eight to ten years — driven out of the area,
replaced by the so-called young professionals.
Also, you used to know who was out there
standing on your street corner,
familiar faces I mean.
Now, that's gone,
You don't know anyone out there anymore.
That's what's scary.
The realisation is that the Brixton you knew historically
is gone, the Brixton you knew culturally is gone,
and the Brixton you know now is a fading memory
which is ever shapeshifting,
ever being reprocessed, reinvented,
in the name of progress, growth, development, and change,
in the name of out with the old, and in with the new.
