The story of Folk Art is everyone’s story.
Folk Exchange is the first stage of a major project aiming to engage us all into asking the question; what does Folk Art mean to you?
Often Folk is construed of as being hand-made, home-grown, self-taught and shared within a community. We see traces of this in our everyday life, but we may miss them. Folk has evolved with society and our way of connecting with Folk may appear differently to how we would assume.
We are inherently creative as people and engage with ‘Folk’ through songs, dance, story-telling, healing, cooking and making, whether that is in the form of knitting, gardening, graffiti or making games.
Folk Art represents work made by ordinary people, demonstrating the creativity of those who may identify as working class, affected by conflict, disabled, chronically ill, incarcerated, hobbyists or activists.
The Folk Exchange project at Compton Verney looks to encompass the crafts and customs of communities who have been excluded from the collection previously, but who are integral to the landscape and cultural heritage of Britain.
We Are Here Because You Were There, Faisal Hussain, 2022-24
Lightbox sign, acrylic and aluminium
Faisal Hussain is a Birmingham based interdisciplinary artist, who explores representations of South Asian culture through popular media and government messaging.
The title is a quote from Sri Lankan-British writer and activist Ambalavaner Sivanandan. It explores patterns of migration following British colonial occupation. In the aftermath of colonial rule, promises of security led many South Asian people to emigrate to Britain, finding new communities in the industrial West Midlands. Sivanandan was a pivotal figure in the fight for equality within the UK.
This piece was first exhibited on a street near the artist’s home in Birmingham. Hussain’s shop signs interrupt the British street with assertive messages. These make explicit colonial histories and politics underlying the restaurants and independent businesses at the centre of our communities.
Plastique Fantastique is an artistic collaboration between David Burrows, Simon O’Sullivan, Alex Marzeta and Vanessa Page.
The piece takes the traditional practice of tarot, and brings into the current time with the use of memes. This work counters a desire to escape by forcing us to interpret using the language of present-day challenges.
Internet memes emerged in the early 21st century, consisting of an image or message that is altered by successive creators as it spreads. Popular art is mass produced, reproducing recognisable subjects and motifs, whilst folk art remixes these in a more personal way.
Tarot Table, Plastique Fantastique, 2020
Table with tarot cards, paper, wood and felt