As I Weave

This new sound work, produced by Derick Armah, was commissioned by Autograph to accompany As I Weave, a multimedia exhibition featuring the textile works of artist Aasha John.

Across 26 minutes, Armah recomposes a range of evocative audio materials into an intimate aural journey between Trinidad and London, including recordings of John’s family conversations, raw sounds of the artist’s weaving and cutting processes, and original music produced by Armah including abstracted steel pan and heartbeat-like drum patterns. Gaps and silences in the audio mimic John’s weaving practice, threading together memories from childhood, socio-political observations and recollections of parental anxieties to form a layered work that conveys the complex and emotional journeys being chartered.

When asked about his exeprience of working on the commission, Armah said: "As an audio-maker and historian, I often find myself engaging with memories of Black life that are complex yet rich with emotion and political insight, which are made to contend with dominant narratives that flatten them. Working with these voices, I find the gaps, silences and hesitations instructive - spaces that invite me to imagine and reconstruct interior worlds through sound, which is an incredibly evocative medium. It’s a privilege and a responsibility to represent these voices, and collaborating with Aasha, who works with memories in a very different way - weaving fluid and vulnerable recollections into physical form - was a profound experience."

You can access a transcipt of the audio here.