Re-writing the Census is an interactive performance created to re-write the census through making Quipus (knots).
Re-writing the Census was performed at Turner Contemporary . People were invited to participate in a conversation with Elspeth about the categories in the British Census. The conversation was recorded using a rope machine and knots to re- create census categories through textiles. It gave us the opportunity to include all those who feel othered or omitted.
The installation and performance was part of Reclaiming The Narrative an exhibition curated by Lucy Edematie at Turner Contemporary for the Power of Women Festival in Thanet. Five artists were selected through an open call for artworks that offered a space for conversation and reflection. Who decides which stories are told and how these are presented? The exhibition included photography, painting and performance.
The Inca civilisation used textiles rather than written text to record their stories, The Quipus are knots used by the Incas to record and document valuable information and remain with us today in museums as artefacts for display representing a past civilisation.
For Re-writing the Census gallery visitors were invited to create an alternative census which used Quipus to depict categories for inclusion in the census using a textile format. This activity took place as a participative installation at Turner Contemporary with five artists selected through an open call.
‘Reclaim the Narrative’ was a group exhibition held at Turner Contemporary as part of the Power of Women Festival 2022. It featured work by Kent-based artists with familial connections to countries including Bolivia, El Salvador, Sierra Leone, Bangladesh, Ukraine, India and Nigeria. Through photography, textiles, text and paintings the artists responded to the brief: who determines which narratives are heard and how they are presented? Which stories do we want to recount about ourselves and our communities, and how would we like them to be told? In this video, the artists discuss the stories behind their work.