Duppy* Dance
This body of work celebrates carnival whilst engaging with its inherently revolutionary and rebellious spirit.
The Carnival seen here is a triumphant representation of freedom and movement, but also a direct response to the legacy of the problematic Black history of the United Kingdom.
The work is set within the liminal space between imagination and reality, and engages with the notion of ‘misogynoir’**, where racism and sexism collide.
The language of satire is used to lure and disarm the viewer into a deeper engagement with the work.
*Duppy [African origin] - commonly used in various Caribbean islands, including Jamaica, meaning ghost or spirit.
**Misogynoir- Term coined by the academic Moya Bailey in 2010 as ‘the particular amalgamation of anti-Black racism and misogyny in popular media and culture that targets Black women.
Annis Harrison is a multi-disciplinary artist who lives and works in London.
Of Swedish and Jamaican heritage, she adopted the UK as home after attending St Martins Art College.
Both in Sweden and in the UK, Harrison has always occupied her own space, having a foot in more than one culture, more than one ethnicity, more than one language.
Neither outside nor inside.
