Description: This original poem and narration based archive piece was developed in response to a picture taken at the Henry family home at Bensham Manor Road in Croydon. Five generations of Henry women, three of which, passed in short succession of each other, immigrated from newly independent Mauritius Islands- the last British colony (1968).
Tracking their history and relationship to societies perception of them and the paradoxical intricacies of being seen as ‘exotic creatures’ from Mauritius in the 70’s, this archive is a reflection on how the matriarchs in Ariane’s life related to each other and an acknowledgement of their resilience and deep emotional lives.
Credits: Barnes, Ariane (Filmmaker); Ehenulo, Kelechi (Producer)
Further information: French Language in video to be aware of : ‘L’exotique’, ‘Gauguin’ - Eugène Henri Paul Gauguin, French Post-Impressionist Artist (1848-1903)
Poem Text
What did you want?
Dressed-up to the nines.
Standing in a garden,
Light of expression and clear of feeling,
Children.
Children of a nation,
Children of a nation, unknown and outgrown.
Taken from the sea and the sun,
To sew seams, to take notes, to be dreams.
but whose?
Clothes that don't fit but look fantastic,
Starting to feel itchy now,
The skin against fabric.
The wool of the heartbreak.
When matron come and bullying done, ain’t no point in regressing.
Fitting BT cables, commemoration clocks.
Proud mother, Stern father, train station master,
Not something to mock.
But right now your smiling,
Right now it fits,
Regardless of cultural queens telling you your identity is a trip.
Standing in the sun,
And looking forward, as they look on.
Yes they got it wrong,
They don’t know, ‘where you’re from’.
But today is OK, today, you belong.
This film was created during Stitch & Remix, a 3-day workshop by Renaissance Studios in collaboration with London's Screen Archives as part of the Undocumented project by London's Screen Archives and The New Black Film Collective. Seeking to address the lack of Black stories in London's moving image archives. This project, and workshops such as Stitch & Remix, are made possible through the support of the BFI, awarding National Lottery funding.
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