25 February – 24 April 2005
Persistent Visions is the culmination of Erika Tan’s research in the Moving Image Archive at the British Empire and Commonwealth Museum. This 3-screen installation has been commissioned by Picture This, a Bristol-based moving image projects agency.
Erika Tan will be working with super 8 film shot by individuals and families, who were once stationed in the former British Colonies as part of the colonial elite, and held by the archive. The filmic explorations cover vast regions, from Malaysia to Kenya and The Suez Canal to Hong Kong. Cine cameras were used to record a personal response to family and working life in a particular place and time. By interrogating the vaults of stored material culture Tan will explore the possibilities of latent meanings and messages, unearthing personal and subjective histories hidden by the grander structures of empire and questioning the ‘inherent’ content of the medium of archival film. Having grown up in a commonwealth country, Singapore, and with her background in anthropology, Erika’s interest is in museological issues such as the nature, status and classification of archive collections. Her work is often informed by specific cultural, geographical or physical contexts – exploring different media to excite and confront an audience.
Commissioned by Picture This with support from The British Empire and Commonwealth Museum as part of Ghosting, a series of research-based commissions on the themes of archive, memory and ethnography funded by Arts Council England.
