[re]locate
Curator and Education
2013
Bermondsey Project Space
London, UK

[re]locate is a sound installation by London-based artist Tahera Aziz, responding to the tragic events surrounding the racially motivated murder of the black teenager Stephen Lawrence near a bus stop in southeast London in 1993.

Taking the notion of the daily routine of waiting at the bus stop as its starting point, the exhibition explores the disruption of the everyday to foreground the murder once again, highlighting detailed elements that have particular resonance. The work examines the processes involved with struggling to preserve the memory of the case, which has had a deep impact in public life, whilst offering new insights.

Utilising transcripts from the Stephen Lawrence Inquiry report to build up a picture of what happened, Aziz worked with a group of actors to develop the dialogue, a field-recording artist and sound engineer to experiment with simultaneous multi-channel recording and audio compositional techniques, and a computer programmer to introduce elements of responsiveness into sonic environment. This unique approach offers a mechanism for deepening audience engagement with the complex and multi-layered narratives associated with the murder. Twenty years on, [re]locate compels the audience to reconsider evolving definitions of contemporary urban experience.

[re]locate had been produced with funding from the Arts Council of England and the Arts and Humanities Research Council (research and development), in partnership with London South Bank University and PVA MediaLab.

Tahera Aziz has had a longstanding creative and political interest in identity, migration and racism. Over years she has produced photo-based and installation work that explores how wider socio-political issues or events can impact on the individual to shape their experiences, and their sense of self and belonging.

[re]locate: Talks and Events
Artist In Conversation: Expanding the Documentary Form Outside the Field of Vision
Panel Discussion: Artistic Practices – Utilising the Substance of Real Life

bermondseyproject.com
taheraaziz.com