A Carnival of Overlapping Histories opens at Platform

On Saturday the 9th of September we were delighted to present A Carnival of Overlapping Histories - an exhibition of new work by Ashanti Harris - to our Made In Easterhouse festival day audiences. 

With October marking #blackhistorymonth we are proud to be part of the wider celebration with this new installation.

Ashanti is a Glasgow based artist, performer, researcher and facilitator for the project, chose to focus on their work in sculpture and installation, to create artworks which celebrate who we are and where we come from. At the start of the project earlier this year, Ashanti set out to combine the making of new sculptural work with the opportunity to work with people whose culture or family history comes from the Caribbean, Africa or Asia - three areas with histories entangled with the histories of Scotland. 

A series of meetings with local residents form Easterhouse and Glasgow North East took place, including parents, children, siblings and friends. The meetings included the chance to create sculptures, along side the opportunity of conversation and exchanging of stories.

This led to the making of two distinct artworks - the first a series of sculptures depicting the faces and hands of all who took part in the project. Created from aliginate moulds and plaster, these highly detailed, gold sculptures represent each person. The second is a series of carnival inspired procession flags featuring mesh sculptures of the faces of local residents, alongside reflections on their lived experiences, which have been thoughtfully handsewn into each flag. 

Together, the artworks represent histories shared, the many cultures that are part of a place and the community of Easterhouse. For the opening event, Margaret McCormick, Platform's Visual Art & Communities Lead interviewed Ashanti about the project, giving the audience a further insight into the making of the exhibition.

The exhibition features: Ashanti, Cat, Clare, Ismael, India, Jerome, Kit, Kyla, Nariman, Marwan, Mary, Maxz, Rasha, Richard and Sophie. Thank you to everyone who took part.

A Carnival of Overlapping Histories runs at Platform until Sat 23 Dec (Mon - Sat, 10am - 5pm). More details here.