“Kwant’s piece collapses the time-space distance between slavery past and present, bringing the two into dialogue and re-inscribing forgotten legacies back onto the British landscape.”
— Sara Jaspan (2019)
Am I not a woman and a sister
Multi-screen film installation made in collaboration with female survivors of modern slavery, in partnership with national charity City Hearts and The International Slavery Museum Liverpool, HD 13.48 mins, 2018- 2020.
This work is available for exhibition loan / screenings. Please get in touch for further information.
“With elegance, modesty and gravity, Elizabeth Kwant established a relationship of trust and collaboration with women who suffered in their flesh. They are the Parcae who thread a new connection and embodied relationship. Their bodies become what links two traumatic histories: that of trans-Atlantic slavery and that of modern slavery in its many versions.”
— Jean- Francois Manicom, Curator The International Slavery Museum (2019)
Am I not a woman and a sister' is a new moving image installation co-created with female survivors of modern day slavery in partnership with Liverpool charity City Hearts.
The work is the culmination of a year long project researching in the archives of the Merseyside Maritime Museum and the International Slavery Museum Liverpool, seeking to better understand the history of the trans-Atlantic slave trade and it’s connections to the North West of England - Kwant’s birthplace and the place she calls home.
Through her past work 'In- Transit' - where the artist embodied and retold migrants stories through site specific performances staged across the Mediterranean - Kwant became interested in the therapeutic benefits of theatre for survivors of trauma. The artist initiated a series of movement workshops in collaboration with British- Barbadian Choreographer Magdalen Bartlett Luambia, giving female survivors of modern day slavery tools and agency to create their own performances.
These embodied performances were shot progressively in a studio and then on location at Harewood House, built between 1759-1771 for wealthy plantation and slave owner Edwin Lascelles, 1st Baron Harewood. Through objects, actions, sound, and repetitive movements, the film reflects upon colonial slavery and its ongoing legacy in modern Britain, raising questions of colonial history and human trafficking today.
The film is complimented by a specially commissioned soundtrack composed by musician Sarah Sarhandi. The project will be accompanied by a publication documenting the workshops including; a forward by acting curator of the International Slavery Museum Jean- Francois Manicom, a commissioned text by independent writer Sara Jaspan, behind the scenes photographs and transcribed conversations with the female participants.
Supported with public funding through Arts Council England in partnership with The International Slavery Museum Liverpool and City Hearts.
Edition 3 + 1AP
With Thanks
The women* (To protect their identity the women who participated have not been named.) Jean Francois Manicom (Acting Curator, The International Slavery Museum), Beth Piner (Health & Wellbeing Coordinator, City Hearts), Steve Watson (North West Regional Manager, City Hearts), Magdalen Bartlett Luambia (Choreographer), Ana Lucia Ceuvas (Armadillo Productions), Fred Coker (Armadillo Productions), David Lascelles (8th Earl of Harewood), Diane Howse (Countess of Harewood), Nicola Stephenson (Exhibitions and Projects Producer, Harewood House Trust), Mark Devereux Projects (Artist’s Professional Development Mentoring), Sara Jaspan (Independent writer), Sarah Sarhandi (Musician, composer), Hannah Beatrice (Photographer), Clare Brown (Quarry Bank Mill, The National Trust), Z-Arts Theatre, Bethan Wilson.
Press
‘Am I not a woman and a sister’ publication to accompany the research project and film, with contributing articles by Sara Jaspan, Jean-François Manicom and women from City Hearts, 2020.
BBC Africa ‘What’s New? (Episode 74) 2nd December 2019.
‘Slavery museum in Liverpool aims to confront painful legacy’ December 18th 2019 by Russell Contreras, The Associated Press (AP). Article published in The New York Times, The Washington Times, The Washington Post, Gulf Today, US News, Concord Monitor, The Jamaica Gleaner (December 18th 2019).
BBC Radio Merseyside, Interview on ‘Upfront’ with Presenter Ngunan Adamu and Curator Jean- Francois Manicom, 15th December 2019.
'Taking a look at modern slavery: exhibition at city's dockside museum provides welcome voice for contemporary victims' by Lorna Hughes, Liverpool Echo Tuesday 31st December 2019.
ITV Granada News, Friday 15th November 2019.
‘Modern day slavery put in spotlight’ John Moores Journalism, 20th November 2019, by Lewis Batty.
An introduction by Curator of The International Slavery Museum Jean-Francois Manicom read here.
A commissioned essay about the project by independent writer and editor Sara Jaspan read here.
Article by Elizabeth Kwant published in Artway.eu read here.
Am I not a woman and a sister (excerpt) Four channel film installation with stereo sound © Elizabeth Kwant 2019. Sound © ℗ Sarah Sarhandi. 13.48 mins. 2018- 2020
