The politics and myth of the Untold Story: From personal liberatory practice to decolonial discourse

Sobers, Shawn

Abstract

This talk will discussed a journey in creative practice and deconstructing motivations of making - from the personal to the political and the blurs inbetween. Sobers discussed modes of using creative culture to challenge to the colonial centre, and examine the battleground from the perspective of two different fronts - the psychological battle of the maker challenging their own embodied colonial questions, and an external battle positioning creative works in the form of activism and awareness. Also, what additional qualities are to be considered for a creative work to foster active sustainable change and furthering the decolonial project? This talk primarily draws on works from Sobers own creative practice, drawing on examples from projects he did as a student through to his professional career. Works that were produced before the labels of 'decolonial' and 'diversity' became popular, and asks 'what has shifted in that exchange'? Sobers also questions the notions of 'hidden histories' and 'untold stories', with the challenge of 'what are the dynamics that led for those narratives to become buried and forgotten?'.

• Presentation Conference Type: Conference Paper (unpublished)
• Conference Name: Decolonial methodologies: Arts, Politics, Europe
• Start Date: Nov 1, 2019
• Deposit Date: Nov 30, 2019
• Keywords: decolonial, colonial, landscape, europe, creative practice
• Public URL: https://uwe-repository.worktribe.com/output/4750841