WRITTEN WORK
I always wanted to look like Cinderella as a child. To resemble her beauty as much as my friends did. As a teenager I wanted to look like Kylie Jenner, cliché I know but very on-trend for the time. Where I am today, I want to know why I always wished to resemble a white woman growing up. My upbringing was one that was nomadic making me a third culture kid separated from home and my roots. Making me a part of the Diaspora. There was a point in my life where racial discrimination was a daily occurrence that had me feel the need to hide my South Asian roots and deny my identity to save myself from the bullying and harassment. I noticed as well that I was more often than not the only person of colour in the room and it took years for me to feel comfortable in my skin and proud of my ancestry but still to this day I cannot face those who made me endure that struggle. It was especially hard to be proud of my South Asian identity in countries abroad when everything everyone knew of South Asians were racial stereotypes they had picked up from the media’s portrayal of us. Those stereotypes being, ‘Stinking like Curry’, ‘Oily and dirty’, ‘Unpopular’, ‘Living in the slums’ and the list goes on.
Throughout my life I have been exposed to the many controversies and social issues in this generation and the last, that is yet to be solved, noticing the many ways in which the public attempt to bring attention to certain affairs such as racism, poverty and violation of human rights. Specifically, I noticed many modern artists sharing a common theme of bringing alight social injustice they too have either observed or experienced being used in their art. A clear memory of an artist whose inspiration stemmed from such a theme that I recall often seeing growing up was Banksy who left a trail of controversial art in all corners of London symbolising the many affairs that needed to be discussed in England and Worldwide.
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Last summer upon visiting New York City's art museum, Brooklyn Museum, I had the chance to see Jean Michel Basquiat’s most celebrated works. Through seeing his work I remember feeling a rush of different emotions as each painting portrayed powerful images embodying different social injustices from his own time whilst also having a contrast in style from the other artists in the museum. I was left fascinated by the thought of how artists in this modern society portray a social realist function in their work. I later that day came across a quote by John F. Kennedy which said, “We must never forget art is not a form of propaganda; it is a form of truth.”, which I found to all be quite coincidental.
The Addressing of World Issues in the art of Banksy and Basquiat.
How do street artists in modern society convey and critique World issues?
LONDONS AMSTERDAM OASIS: iTS JUST A WHIFF AWAY
​From a history of colonialism to a future of inclusion, the Conservative Party has become unrecognisable in recent years. Through the strategic placement of MPs from ethnic minority backgrounds in prominent positions, the Conservative Party has used diversity as a tool to shield them from dismantling accusations of discrimination. As time draws closer to their looming defeat with a Brown PM as the face of the party, one question comes to my mind: Will we witness the transformation of POC (People of Colour) MPs from shields to weapons as a means of tackling their political rivals whilst securing more party support from those of ethnic minority backgrounds?
BRITIANS BROWN SCAPEGOATS:
HOW THE TORY MPS USE P.O.C MPS IN A DECEIT OF RACISM AND DIVERSITY IMPROVEMENT.
