“At the root of this exhibition is the shock and horror of racial hatred,” explains London-based artist Tahera Aziz. “It raises questions about social responsibility, policing and the horrific nature of the attack. These are questions as important today as they were twenty years ago.”
For [re]locate, Aziz has created a sound installation that revisits the events surrounding the racially motivated murder of black teenager Stephen Lawrence in 1993, at a bus stop in south east London. The piece takes the notion of the daily routine of waiting at the bus stop as its starting point, exploring the disruption of the everyday to foreground the murder once again.
The exhibition’s location at Bermondsey Project is particularly pertinent. “The murder occurred just up the road in Eltham. Also, the public inquiry was within walking distance in Elephant and Castle. The location has a unique connection with what happened.”
Aziz utilised transcripts from the Stephen Lawrence Inquiry report to build up a picture of what happened, working with a group of actors to develop the dialogue. With the help of a field-recording artist and sound engineer, she experimented with simultaneous multi-channel recording and audio compositional techniques. A computer programmer introduced elements of responsiveness into the sonic environment.
“We actually visited the bus stop where the incident happened and recorded the sounds of the space,” says Aziz. “The audience are encouraged to generate their own mental images of events. This approach offers a mechanism for deepening audience engagement with the complex and multi-layered narratives associated with the murder. When it happened, there were witnesses to the attack who walked away. I want the audience to ask themselves: ‘What would I do in that situation?’”
[re]locate has already visited Axis Arts Centre (formerly Alsager Arts Centre), East Street Arts’ Union 105 (Leeds), New Art Exchange (Nottingham), and the Santorini Biennale of Arts. So what’s next? “I hope to exhibit internationally in Germany, the US and Scandinavia,” says Aziz. “Twenty years on from the murder, it is important that we remember Stephen Lawrence. The senselessness of his racially motivated murder should not be forgotten.”
For more information on (re) locate visit: http://bermondseyproject.com/gallery/tahera-aziz-relocate
Exhibition Dates: 19 April – 12 May 2013
rn
