Tahera Aziz: [re]locate

About

The tragic events surrounding the racially motivated murder of black teenager Stephen Lawrence, who was stabbed to death while waiting for a bus in 1993, are revisited at the University of Chichester’s Otter Gallery from 9 October to 6 December.

The exhibition presents a multi-channel sound installation developed by London-based visual artist and educator Tahera Aziz, taking the notion of the daily routine of waiting at the bus stop as its starting point.

Visitors are encouraged to place themselves in the position of ‘witness’ and generate their own mental images of events as they experience the installation – a sonic reconstruction which provides a mechanism for them to engage with the complex and multi-layered narratives associated with the case.  

The installation explores the disruption of the everyday to bring the murder to the foreground, highlighting detailed elements that have particular resonance. The work is part of the process involved in struggling to preserve the memory of the Stephen Lawrence case - which has had a deep impact in public life and remains relevant 22 years on - whilst offering new insights.

Aziz has used transcripts from the Stephen Lawrence Inquiry report to build up a picture of what happened on the evening of his death. She has worked with a group of actors to develop the dialogue, and a field-recording artist and sound engineer to experiment with simultaneous multi-channel recording and audio compositional techniques.

Aziz, an academic at London South Bank University, has had a longstanding creative and political interest in identity, migration and racism. Over the years she has produced photo-based and installation work that explores how wider socio-political issues or events can impact on the individual to shape their experiences and their sense of self and belonging.

She commented: “Artists continue to offer new insights into real life and everyday experiences – disrupting our perceptions in unexpected and imaginative ways.  The issues arising from the racially motivated murder of Stephen Lawrence, over 20 years ago, continue to be relevant today. I know that art cannot fully rectify these problems, but I hope it can help to raise awareness, and act as a catalyst for discussion about social change.

“The artwork challenges the audience by putting them in the position of three witnesses who were standing at the bus stop on the night of the murder and who, according to the Stephen Lawrence Inquiry, boarded a bus shortly after the attack. It poses thought-provoking questions by asking what the audience would do if faced with the same predicament.”