I started this module wanting to make a film. I felt inspired by the ‘Days like this - Washing of Hands’ film by Joel Simon. Whilst looking ahead to my trip to The Gambia I hoped that I would be able to make something similar using my own experiences. However, I am not very confident in film making, so I'm not sure that this would be the best thing for me to make.
I still want to use my own experiences from The Gambia, perhaps going down the diary making route. I want to hand make something, as this will reflect life in The Gambia. Most people are very poor and make a living by hand making jewelry, clothing and every day objects. To help with this process I will be taking part in a book-binding workshop.
I have looked at the work of Dan Eldon, who hand makes travel journals using text, imagery and drawing. I find his work to be quite inspirational and helpful in my own creative idea process. I will also be looking at the works of Su Blackwell and Laura Jackson-Willis, who both hand-craft creative books and journals.
As a way of integrating my own experiences from The Gambia, I have begun reading ‘Roots’ by Alex Haley. Whilst in The Gambia I spent a day on the roots tour, which is a day spent in the village and on the island where Kunta Kinte was captured and kept as a slave in the 19th Century. I want to use this journey as a part of my hand crafted diary for this project.
I want to use a range of materials in my work, including those with different grades of transparency, this is because Gambians are very friendly, happy and always smiling. It is very welcoming but you can’t help but wonder what this happy facade is hiding from deeper in their lives. The layering of materials with different transparencies I think would help to reflect this in a creative way.
I know that this project will be very much a process of trial and error.
