Reclamation : socially engaged art and anti-racism in the Midlands
Jagdish Patel is a multi-disciplinary artist and writer. His work centres on photography, painting, archives, sound and performance, with an interest in analysing their role in relation to care, anti-racist practices, political science, and Black studies.
He is a PhD candidate at Coventry University, Centre for Memory, Arts, and Communities, researching the intersections between social practice and anti-racism, focusing on the Midlands between the 1960s and the 1980s.
Chamberlain Square, Birmingham
2023, Painting, watercolour and Chalk
Some recent work (click on image for more details)
When the Snow Melts
Southall Remembers 40
Patrins
Breaking Ground
Desi Pubs
Rays of light
Presence, Absence and the Melting Snows
War metaphors are used by politicians to bring a nation together in times of difficulty. Therefore, it was no surprise that one of the defining features of the impact of Coronavirus was its comparisons to the memories of the two global wars, with calls for a 'Blitz Spirit' to the nation's new-found hero, Sir Captain Tom. Even healthcare workers were re-defined as an army heroically fighting on the 'frontline', with their 'fallen' comrades. However from my conversations with friends in the health sector most seem to see themselves in a different war, as overworked medics from the TV programme M*A*S*H, seeking salvation in close caring personal connections amid a mismanaged nightmare.
In 2020, in the midst of the COVID Pandemic Britain celebrated VJ Day 70, and India and Pakistan celebrate independence, this 10-minute film weaves the memories of the presence of Indian soldiers during WWII. In partnership with Himmah and New Art Exchange Nottingham.
The project was commissioned for the Nottingham Mela 2020.
Presence, Absence and the Melting Snows. @ Jagdish Patel 2020. Video film 14 mins
Writing
Southall 1979 : A living history in 13 photographs
We chart our lives with memories, and these determine how we see ourselves. The act of remembrance is also a social event, connecting us to other people and to places. However, a historical narrative not only frames the past, but its temporal relationship to us also tends to make it future-oriented. Politicians know this, and it was no accident that the Brexit slogan ‘Taking Back Control’, talks to a certain constituency both about the past and future.
If we accept that how we talk about Southall's past is important, what issues should we consider?.
From Grandmaster to the Paralympics …a long and whining road
The language and poetry of Rap is often dark reflecting the culture of resistance, and articulating the lives of young people, often young black men. Young men are generally not openly introspective, and you have to search amongst the bravado and violence to find real poetic gems of poetry.
Stuart Hall and Black British photography
My own introduction to Stuart Hall was made by staying up after midnight to watch him present Open University talks. This was in my teens, and even though I didn’t really understand his talks, what I wanted to watch was a radical perspective on black lives in Britain, a perspective that was not articulated in the mainstream television programs.
Current & Previous Clients
Alchemy Festival, South Bank Centre
Black Country Visual Arts
Creative Black Country
De Montfort University
Derbyshire Gypsy Liasion Group
GNG Football Club (Leicester)
Goldsmiths, University of London
Himmah
Imran Khan and Partners
LCB Depot
Leicester Museums
Lincolnshire Gypsy Liasion Group
Living Memory Project
Magnum Photos
Multistory
National Justice Museum
New Art Exchange
Nottingham Arts Mela
Nottingham Asian Heritage Month
Nottingham Black Archives
Nottingham City Council
Nottingham Contemporary
Off Centre Photography Festival
Primary
Reframed Photogoraphy
Royal Society of Photograph
School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London
Scrambles Photograph
Shaheed Udham Singh Welfare Centre
St Peters Church, Nottingham
The Monitoring Group
The National Federation of Gypsy Liasion Groups
Univerity of Lincoln
University of Glasgow
Warwick University
Wolverhampton Art Gallery
Wolverhampton University
Displacements
2015. Lenticular composed of six photographs