gypsy waggon from Matt Rowe on Vimeo.
This Romany Wagon is the traditional home used by the Romany people who are often referred to as gypsy’s. see the Caravan Being restored here
Romany Culture has had a strong presence in Kent for centuries. Many artists of English / Romany origin such as Daniel Baker and Delaine Le Bas have produced contemporary art works that investigate a range of themes central to Romany identity . Follow this link to visit the first Roma Pavilion that was hosted at the Venice Biennale in 2007. In 2007 Delaine Le Bas also showed some of here works at an exhibition named O Dreamland on the Romney Marsh in Greatstone.
Daniel Baker
“Daniel was born in St Mary Cray in Kent in 1961, the youngest son of a family of Romanichal Gypsies, which has existed in the area for many generations and represents the largest concentration of Gypsies in England. His family settled before he was born, making for a relatively stable education. Daniel studied painting at Ravensbourne School of Art from age 17 to 21. His art practice has become increasingly contextualised by an ongoing exploration of his cultural positioning. Having completed a Sociology MA specialising in Romani Studies, Daniel b egan his Doctoral Research at the Royal College of Art in 2006. He is currently serving as Chair of the Gypsy Council and editor of The HUB, the newsletter of the Gypsy Council. He exhibits widely both in the UK and abroad. He lives and works in London.
Artist’s Statement:
My current work explores the imagined space occupied by the Gypsy, offering a window into the marginal area allocated to them – outside of, yet surrounded by, connected, yet dislocated from a society that they have existed within for hundreds of years. The imagined space here refers both to the symbolic space of myth and misconception held in the popular imagination, as well as the absence or disappearance of geographical space for Gypsy habitation in the light of recent legislation.
These works use painted, etched and gilded glass to produce illuminated mirrored surfaces, or looking glasses. Images appear behind the glass but in front of the mirrored background, locating the subject in a liminal or in -between space – a space which the Gypsy continues to inhabit both physically and symbolically. The somewhat obscured nature of the gilded reflection allows the viewer to inhabit the landscape of the work whilst at the same time evading true likeness and recognition.
These looking glasses seek to highlight an ambiguity and confusion in the way that Gypsies are seen – a state of obscured likeness and masked visibility that has been internalised by the Gypsy over time, making it difficult for Gypsies to fully see them-selves in the world. This difficulty in visualising the self has left popular stereotyped images relatively unchallenged, the legacy of which is a symbolic Gypsy that is ever present but never truly seen. These works are a meditation upon identity and dislocation.”
Delaine Le Bas
” 1965 Worthing (West -Sussex), United Kingdom; lives there. 1981- 86 West Sussex College of Art & Design, Worthing, West Sussex 1986- 88 St Martins School of Art, London
Artist’s Statement
” The nation’s morals are like teeth: the more decayed they are, the more it hurts to touch them.” George Bernard Shaw My work is at the point where Outsider, Folk and Contemporary Art meet, combining a visionary, conceptual and craft approach. I live and work in the same space 24/7. There is no separation of daily life and art; they are intertwined. My works are the struggle to escape the stereotypes. I employ symbols that the viewer thinks they understand. I take these familiar images, retain their democratic nature but create a shift in their meaning.
Scratch beneath the glittery surface and you will see a violent undercurrent, exposing things for what they are, drawn in by the prettiness to be confronted by what lurks beneath the surface, the wolf in sheep’s clothing being a reoccurring theme.
As a Romani, my viewpoint has always been that of the outsider, and this position of the ‘other’ is reflected in the materials and messages within my work. We live in a culture of mixed values and garbled messages. My works are crafted from the disregarded and disparate objects of the car boot sale and the charity shop. A bricollage of materials. Employing the materials of the everyday, all formed together in a manner that allows them to be precious yet reclaimed. ”
texts taken from “Paradise Lost ” The First Roma Pavilion, Curator and Artists Biographies by Tímea Junghaus.
