‘when you rip the people from the earth, you also rip the earth from the people’
Silk paint on Habotai silk (90cm x 2m) and digital animation (1 min loop) and 7 min soundscape, 2024)
'when you rip the people from the earth, you also rip the earth from the people' explores the emotional and mental effects of growing and foraging for the black British Caribbean diaspora and how this act connects the artist to her ancestral home of Jamaica. The work is inspired by Ashman's own experience as an allotment owner and the Black and brown growing communities she is part of, her research into Jamaican vegetables that are possible to grow in the UK climate and how these same vegetables were used for survival and resistance by enslaved populations of Jamaica during the 400 years of chattel slavery on the island.
The work was originally displayed at Boscombe Arts Depot as part of the Connected Grounds exhibition, Oct 2024, which featured an animation projection mapped onto the piece, accompanies with a 7 min soundscape.
