大象传媒

22 June 2023

To mark the 75th anniversary of the arrival of HMT Empire Windrush in the UK, His Majesty The King has commissioned ten leading artists to create portraits of ten pioneering members of the Windrush generation to be added to the Royal Collection. This artistic process has been captured in a new 大象传媒 documentary, Windrush: Portraits of a Generation. It features first-person testimony from the sitters, many of whom are in their 90s. Here is a flavour of what they have to say.

The portraits will be on public display at the until mid-September.

The exhibition will then move in October to the National Portrait Gallery in London for about six months.

“It is, I believe, crucially important that we should truly see and hear these pioneers who stepped off the Empire Windrush at Tilbury in June 1948 - only a few months before I was born - and those who followed over the decades, to recognise and celebrate the immeasurable difference that they, their children and their grandchildren have made to this country.”

- His Majesty The King

“We just want fair play. Fair. What belongs to us, we’ll get it. Fair. We don’t want to take your things away. We don’t want to fight. We just want people to listen.”

Born in 1926 in Jamaica, 'Big' John Richards was a passenger on HMT Empire Windrush. A photograph of him alongside two other sharply dressed men, taken upon their arrival at Tilbury Docks in Essex, has become one of the most famous images of the Windrush generation.

To help inform the creation of the portraits, the artists were invited to ask their subjects about their many experiences.

'Big' John is paired with the artist Deanio X, who says “it's important to understand history”.

"It's good to get what you know from the source, and then maybe it can make a start in the direction of rectifying some of those gaps in some of those stories, some of those bits that are missing,” he says.

“What Jamaica gave me was a strong sense of identity of who I am. You can be British and you can be Jamaican, and I am very proud of both.”

Born in Jamaica in 1933, Linda Haye was the first black woman to be appointed full-time to the Police Complaints Authority (now the Independent Office for Police Conduct) in 1993.

Linda is paired with London artist Shannon Bono, who says her artistic practice is all about “uplifting the black female experience, trying to bring light to our stories and our accomplishments”.

“Somebody said that you’re the first black professor in Scotland. And I found it very surprising because I've never seen myself in that way. I wasn’t made a professor because I was black.”

Born in Jamaica in 1940, Sir Geoff graduated in Botany at the University of Leicester in 1964. He was knighted in the 2014 New Year’s Honours for services to human rights, science and charity.

Sir Geoff is paired with US artist Derek Fordjour, who says: “I think with figures like him, we see their accomplishments and they hide a lot of the scars.

“I’m interested in where the discomfort lies and what he might be keeping beneath the surface, and how we can bring that into a richer understanding of who he is.”

“Everywhere I worked, I was the only black person. At the time, it just seemed well, you know, these are early days.”

Born in 1932 in British Guiana (now Guyana), Carmen became a well-known actor on stage and television. Her credits include Doctor Who and the Channel 4 comedy Desmond's.

Artist Sonia Boyce OBE, who is creating Carmen's portrait, says she felt nervous when they first met “because I've literally grown up seeing her on television”.

“There’s a very important essay, about the way in which we start to fall in love with a person that we see on the screen because of the sheer light that emanates from the screen, so I was thinking about this in relation to Carmen,” she says.

“You left Jamaica for there was no work and a crowded house. Jamaica was a crowded house.”

Born in Jamaica in 1931, Laceta arrived in Britain in 1957 and eventually settled in Wales with his wife and three children.

“I'm proud of myself to be so faithful to the NHS and the ward that I worked on, because I worked hard.”

Born in Jamaica in 1931, Edna Henry spent 23 years working for the NHS as a nursing assistant in Cardiff.

Edna is paired with US artist Amy Sherald, whose works include Michelle Obama’s official portrait for the Smithsonian National Portrait Gallery.

She says: “As an artist, it's opportunities like this that offer me a chance to tell the stories of people that I'm sure consider themselves unseen.”

”I can't knock Britain, I've been lucky in England. I've had a good life so I can't knock it.”

Born in Jamaica in 1928, Delisser enlisted in the RAF in 1944. On the Windrush passenger list, he described himself as a carpenter despite not having any joinery qualifications. He says he was willing to try any job opportunity that came his way.

He is paired with US artist Honor Titus, who says: "A lot of my work is about escapism. And, in this sense, I'm engaging with a man and his family and his story in a very real way."

“I do see some things to be done and I just do it. I don't wait to be asked. I just get on and do it and that's me. And they would tell me off, you know?”

Born in St Lucia in 1927, Jessie volunteered as a police liaison officer after hearing about the harassment of black boys as young as 10.

She encouraged her son’s friend, Leroy Logan, to pursue a career in the police, and he eventually became a high-ranking officer. The story featured in Small Axe, the 大象传媒 drama anthology series directed by Steve McQueen.

Her son is the musician Leee John, lead singer of soul band Imagination.

She is paired with London-based artist Sahara Longe, who says: “Jessie's a very remarkable woman.

“She's from an incredible generation and she's seen so much history. It's nice to be able to document just a tiny bit of that history.”

“Sometimes people say things and they don't even realise that it is wrong. So you have to look at it and say it is wrong. You have to say, I wouldn't like this or I forgive you.”

Born in 1932 in Jamaica, Gilda Oliver worked as a healthcare support worker for the NHS and is a key figure in local community groups.

She is paired with the Jamaican-born artist Clifton Powell, who now lives in Wiltshire.

He says: "To know that I'm painting somebody from Jamaica, the same place that I'm from, is a new experience for me. It shouldn't be, but it is."

“Well, I've had a beautiful life. Beautiful. All the way.”

Born in Jamaica in 1930, Alford Gardner served in the RAF in Liverpool as an engineer and motor mechanic during World War Two. He returned to England in June 1948 on HMT Empire Windrush. He settled in Leeds, where he helped to set up the Caribbean Cricket Club which still exists today.

Alford is paired with Manchester-based artist Chloe Cox, who says: “I think a lot of paintings can add a level of sort of pomp, which I'm not about.

”I just want to capture something realistic and raw and honest.”

Windrush: Portraits of a Generation is available now on 大象传媒 iPlayer.