Kent, United Kingdom
Seeds of Change, 2019
Intstallation: wood, metal, ultraviolet lighting, glass, soil, green roof, substrate and capillary matting, wildflowers and printed veiles
Acquisition: Gift by the artist
Reference: 05278
Dan Turner is an artist and educator from London, a Romani born in Kent. Dan trained at St Martins School of Art where he completed a BA Honours in Fine Art (Sculpture). He works across mediums including sculpture, video and painting .
Dan’s practice explores the interaction between Romany and mainstream culture through themes of commercial interchange in Romani life.
He is interested in how human life can be defined and archived through the objects that are made and how these objects communicate across timelines through a shared ‘material’ culture and how they articulate that culture to a wider audience, This is particularly in relation to the Romany community. He sees his art as a reclamation of public space – where once there was a visible Romani presence now there is an absence. He believes there is a need to reset the transactional balance between Traveller and non Traveller, establish dialogue and alter entrenched attitudes.
By using Transactional Objects which have significance across both cultures, Turner examines how Gypsy, Roma and Traveller cultures meet and interact with the dominant culture. Working with migration maps of Roma diasporas and using traditional crafts and occupations such as herbalism, peg and wooden flower making and fortune telling Turner re- imagines Roma past, present and future to challenge mainstream culture’s view of our Roma identities.
Source: danturnerartist.com/about/
