Jhanee Wilkins: Black Britain
Northern Gallery for Contemporary Art
Saturday 28th January - Sunday 16th April 2023
Jhanee Wilkins is an artist-photographer and filmmaker born and living in the West Midlands. Wilkins works digitally, using still and moving images, with audio and text to explore political and often autobiographical subjects that relate to feminism, immigration, racism and identity.
Wilkins first solo exhibition coming two years after she graduated in MA Photography from the University of Sunderland presents two new photographic series, Black Britain and Likkle Paradise.
Black Britain started life as a blog in which Wilkins photographed and interviewed people of Black British heritage living in Birmingham. The photographs and accompanying texts drew on the experiences of growing up in Britain touching on childhood, cultural heritage and racism. A selection of these images are shown as photographic prints for the first time.
Likkle Paradise is a photographic celebration of the Windrush generation through Caribbean food and culture. Wilkins spent seven weeks at a local Caribbean food shop in Smethwick called Leon’s Food Store. People from all over Birmingham came to Leon’s Food Store to buy and cook the food they were brought up with and carry on the traditions of their family. Wilkins met many people of different ages and from different places discussing everything from the experience of growing up in Jamaica to being given a recipe for Saturday soup; a thick flavourful soup using root vegetables, boiled dumplings, meat, and “cock” soup mix.
This exhibition has been produced in partnership with the Northern Centre of Photography, University of Sunderland.
Photos: Colin Davison