Jafaican

Finley Gilzene

Summary
Final work

Finley Gilzene is a Jamaican / English visual artist, born in Slough and living in South London. His work uses the alternative photography method of cyanotypes and focuses on conversations surrounding the black experience in Britain, such as integration, desire, belonging and the marginalisation that comes from these desires. His work has evolved into the world of moving image, through conversations with family, which has contributed to the development of both his research methods and creative work.

Finley Gilzene is a Jamaican / English visual artist, born in Slough and living in South London. ...

‘Jafaican’ is an alternative photography and moving image-based body of work, looking at the themes of identity, culture, marginalisation, belonging, self-love and the confusion that comes with being a black person in Britain. The project evolved due to a sudden moment of reflection, where I began to become very critical of myself.

I asked myself:

“Why have I avoided learning about my Jamaican Heritage?”

“Am I scared to appear ‘more black’ due to the racism I have witnessed, and I know is present in Britain?”

“Can I overcome those years of ignorance and fully embrace my Jamaican background, through my creative practice?’

My practice builds on the feelings of incompleteness, marginalisation and shame that come as a result of attempts to integrate into an unwelcoming society. My methodology combines auto-ethnographical research with my visual practice of ‘cyanotyping’ and using the method to abstract self- portraits of my body onto calico fabric. My practice has become meditative, reflective, and self-analytic, as well as a physical representation of my research and thought process. The film ‘Show Them We Haven’t Got Tail’ complements these ideas, by opening up these conversations of identity with my nan, a woman who immigrated to Britain from Jamaica in the 60s, as well as my aunty, a black woman that grew up in London during the 80s. Our discussed shared experiences of alienation in Britain. All of this work combined has contributed to guiding me towards a journey of self-discovery, self-love and fulfilment.

The project evolved through the context of extracting ideas of colonialism and colonial attitudes and extract further through comparing them to my own thoughts about my personal relationship and insecurities with my identity and my culture through the images I had already been making. Through focusing on how I can utilise ‘failed’ cyanotypes, I question what work can be considered ‘valuable’ to my investigation. As a person with Jamaican Heritage, I was drawn to research surrounding identity and belonging in Britain.