Dr Sangeeta Sandrasegar
The shadow class, 2007-8
Felt, cotton thread, nylon organza, hosiery, Supacloth, glass beads, sequins
134 x 73 cm
Black shapes crouched, lay, sat between... clinging to the earth, half coming out, half effaced within the dim light, in all attitudes of pain, abandonment and despair. ...They were not enemies, they were not criminals, they were nothing earthly now - nothing but black shadows.
- Joseph Conrad, Heart of Darkness
A project on contemporary slavery, and the myriad forms existing today, each piece in the series depicts a type of bonded or forced labour. Arising from research around Joseph Conrad's 'Heart of Darkness' the series explores slavery in our ostensibly Post-colonial, Post-slavery present day.
Tracing the silhouette of my cast shadow performing various roles of forced labour, was a way to talk about the many forms slavery takes today with my personal feelings towards the subject, which are deeply mixed, complex, and ambivalent.
Black shapes crouched, lay, sat between... clinging to the earth, half coming out, half effaced within the dim light, in all attitudes of pain, abandonment and despair. ...They were not enemies, they were not criminals, they were nothing earthly now - nothing but black shadows.
- Joseph Conrad, Heart of Darkness
A project on contemporary slavery, and the myriad forms existing today, each piece in the series depicts a type of bonded or forced labour. Arising from research around Joseph Conrad's 'Heart of Darkness' the series explores slavery in our ostensibly Post-colonial, Post-slavery present day.
Tracing the silhouette of my cast shadow performing various roles of forced labour, was a way to talk about the many forms slavery takes today with my personal feelings towards the subject, which are deeply mixed, complex, and ambivalent.