Gestures of a Square

Gillett Square is a unique and important public space in the heart of Dalston, East London, UK. A “blank canvas for a community to paint differently every day”. (GS2). Physically, it is a granite open space flanked by jazz bars, cafes, food outlets and a host of other activities. Culturally, the square is the co-presence of people – people from an astonishing range of ages, socio-economic and ethnic backgrounds & beliefs. Creating a mural in a space as intense, engaged and multifaceted as this, required a more inclusive process and a representative form of image creation. One narrative could never encapsulate a place with so many voices; thus, getting the community involved in the creation of the work was paramount. This was realized by placing paper on the wall prior and through the mural process. Through this, the many voices of the square became salient – people’s drawings, names, memories, manifestos and statements – and were folded into the figure’s clothing. Photos of people during this process, frequenters of the square, became the subjects of the mural. During these times when the stark inequality of black, brown and many other peoples is being voiced, having a wall of all non-white faces became a political statement that sparked cogent conversations. In Representation: Cultural Representations and Signifying Practices, Stuart Hall explains how “representation is the production of meaning through language”. If there is a lack of representation, meaning and power is derived from this vacuum. What are the power structures inherent in the visual dynamic of representation in London, more specifically in Dalston and more broadly in the street art movement? This project was curated, produced and supported by Wood Street Walls (@woodstreetwalls ), Gillett Square, Agent Squires @agent_squires Tom Riley @atomikbubbles with funding from The Creative Industries Federation @creative_fed and the campaign #ourworldwithout , speaking about the critical need for funding the arts during the time of Covid. Thank you to everyone in the community who participated in this project to make it possible.

Acrylic, Paper + Marker on concrete

2020

Photo Credit: Tim Crocker and Artist