In preparation for a public presentation on the occasion of the launch of Shezad Dawood's public art commission for Homerton College, I present a series of images from my research, accompanied by the following text:
A-Z OF AN UNCERTAIN FUTURE - A is for Archive – obviously – that was my starting point – that wonderful repository that contrary to common belief isn’t only about the past, because it’s also about what we choose - here and now- to keep for the future. A is also for the Arts and Architecture – so strongly present in the film, the archive, the college and all our lives. Crucially for Tightrope Walkers A is also for Attention.
B is for Beauty – what will happen to our sense of it? What art will we make as the world crumbles? B is for Black Lives Matter and for Biodiversity all around us – the Bees and the Butterflies. It’s also for Books- what part will they play?
C is for Common –both in terms of resources, lands and the senses. It’s for Cycles in nature and on the roads. It’s for Crafts- once so central to teachers training. It’s also for Care, Collegiality, and crucially Clear thinking- which I discovered was taught back in the 1930s. Other important C words are Clarity, Companionship and Compassion.
D is for Dissent – part of Homerton’s DNA going back to its origins in the 17th century. It’s also about Dreaming, Diversity, Dignity and Duty- which are all present in the college’s archive.
E is clearly for Education, Emergency and Empathy.
F is for Flowers on the 1st of May – a custom in Homerton- upheld by all accounts even during the two world wars and through the flu pandemic. It’s also for Fruit from the orchards – very much appreciated when food was rationed. F is also for Friendships annotated on Fans and other means before the emergence of social media. It is also for the essential cultural artefact - Film!
G is for Gardens and Ghosts from the past – do they haunt us or we them as Patrick McGuinness asked. G is also for Guardianship and Governance – and what future for them?
H is for Histories or Herstories in Homerton’s case and ‘Hand me downs’ often found on a clothes rail by the student union’s office. It’s for cries for festivals like Holi as well as for Help – heard and seen even from afar. H is also for Horizon – which forever moves away and is never quite within grasp.
I is for ‘If only’- essential at all times. It’s for Indigenous knowledge that’s been overlooked for so long. It’s also for Interdependency – ours with the bees, trees, other cultures, the trees and the seas.
J is for Justice and Journeys as long as they are low emission ones. Journeys along tightropes, across divides and in our minds.
K is for Knowledges of all kinds- scientific, emotional, indigenous and historical to name but some. But maybe it’s also for Not Knowing as the case maybe at this point in time.
L is for Library – where knowledge is freely shared. For our future’s sake it’s also for the Library of Things.
M is for Mothers – of tomorrow’s children but also of trees and the earth. It’s also for Minorities and todays Minors for whom the future is but a blur.
N is for Nests and Now! It’s also for No more – no more abuses of power, colonisation and monocultures. It’s for Navigation – as we walk the tightrope but also through rough seas ahead and crucially of Narratives- who is telling the story and why?
O is for Otherwise, Orchards and Olympians that Homerton had already in 1923. It’s also for an Orchestra of Organisms described by Suzanne Simard in her article about trees and how they could be a model for a new way of being.
P is for Poetry, Possibilities and Peace of course.
Q is for Questions which must, and according to artist Laure Provost, will be asked.
R is for Robins – the Real and the ‘Round’ ones as found in the archive. It’s for Restitution, Repair, Resilience, Rationing and Reflection. R is also for Responsibilities, and Refuges which will have to be provided, whatever the costs.
S is for Silence which must be broken. It’s for Solidarity and Singing – especially together. It’s also for Seeds – miraculous and vital beings. S is for Shelters from increasingly Stormy conditions and Stewardship - of nature and of humans and their rights.
T is for Teaching, Tangible things to Touch and Trees, which we now know communicate in sophisticated ways. It’s also for Trust – between us not the ones that sit in banks and set us apart.
U is for Urgency, Uncertainty and Utopia as found in the New School film.
V is for Village schools- celebrated in the archive. V is also for View finders and Vantage points – which will, in many cases, need to shift.
W is for Wild things and ‘War Works’ found in many accounts of the war in the archive – a mobilised effort to mitigate the damages endured. W is also for Walking- the tightrope and crucially - the extra mile. It’s for Walls but not those made of bricks and mortar but rather of friendships – like the ones found in the archive – walls of camaraderie and solidarity that protect and empower.
X is for X -Rays – a way to see beyond appearances. It’s also for Xanadu- because we need more warrior princesses. And Xylon which means ‘from the forests’ and Xenon which means both guest and a host.
Y is for yarns that were spun at the college in the past and importantly it’s for You – the other and Youth.
Z is for Zig Zag – the non-linear and meandering paths ahead and undertaking them with Zeal and Zenith. Z is also for Zeugmas- our ability to use words to modify more than one thing at a time – because from now on, and for the sake of all our futures - a lot needs to change….
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