On Our Doorsteps: Kumbazu by Tiitu Takalo
Transcript
The artwork that you can see here is by Finnish graphic novelist Tiitu Takalo. It is one of 6 large artworks presented on 3m x 1.5m billboards around the Sweet Briar Marshes Nature Reserve in Norwich as part of a nationwide project called On Our Doorsteps.
The artwork is made up of a series of 13 smaller pictures, presented across three rows. In each one we see a scene depicting people and landscapes represented in delicate line drawings colours with atmospheric watercolours that capture the soft tones of the landscape and weather conditions. It is clear that this is an artwork that has been make carefully by hand, then reproduced much larger to fill the 3m wide billboard.
In the first panel, top left, we see a landscape. There are no people. There is an expanse of yellow grassland, dotted here and there with brown bushes. A path of green grass cuts diagonally across the yellow meadow towards a large tree with grey branches. The scene looks cool and damp, but some green has started to appear in some of the bushes. There is a text above the landscape saying simply: ‘It’s really beautiful’.
In the second image, we see a head-and-shoulders view of two women who are walking and talking. Closest to us is Kumbazu. She is black and has her hair braided back. She wears a turquoise tracksuit. Tiitu looks at her as she speaks. Tiitu is white. She wears glasses and has brown hair beneath a grey cap. She’s wearing a grey hoodie. They a walking past an atmospheric landscape of grey and orange trees. Kumbazu says: ‘The landscape reminds me of Namibia, where I come from. It really makes me feel at home again.’
In the next image, we see Kumbazu and Tiitu from behind, head and shoulders again, looking across the landscape. Now there are two large, white cows just in front of them. The cows are bending down to eat the grass. The text from Tiitu says: ‘Oh, look at the cows!’ Kumbazu says ‘They are here to help conserve nature.’
The next picture shows a side view, quite close up of one of the cows. It is white with black eyes, nose, ears and hooves. It is feeding calmly on the grass in front of grey bushes and distant blue trees. Above it, the text says: In Africa, cows are the same colour. I grew up on a farm with livestock.
In the first picture of the second row, we see Kumbazu, close up, but looking down thoughtfully. Behind her, Tiitu asks ‘Do you miss home?’ Kumbazu replies: ‘I can’t say I miss home. I think I miss my siblings.’ We see one of the cows behind them in the distance.
Next we see a close up of Kumbazu’s face. Smiling now, she says: ‘I feel like this is my new home. I have built my life in Norfolk.’ We see Tiitu a short distance away looking towards Kumbazu, listening.
In the following image, we look down and see Kumbazu’s white trainers and turquoise tracksuit trousers. The floor is brown soil, with a few blades of green grass pushing through. All over the soil are animal tracks, some from birds, some from deer maybe, running this way and that. In a white speech bubble, the text reads: Now I’m just waiting for the decision on the asylum application. I came here in 2018.
Then, in the next image, we see the two figures, from much further away now, walking through the landscape and talking. It looks like they are following the green grassy path across the meadow to the big tree that we saw before. Kumbazu says: ‘I volunteer with the Norfolk Wildlife Trust.’
In the following image we see another close-up of Kumbazu. Looking around her, she says: ‘Being in this space has a really deep impact on my life.’
In the first image on the third row, we see Kumbazu and Tiitu in profile looking left to right, as if we are walking alongside them. Among the brown, orange and yellow bushes, and the distant blue trees, one bush is covered with white blossom. Kumbazu says: It is a good opportunity for me to get out of the house and do something that really makes my mind relax.
The next picture is quite wide and we see the two figures walking again in the distance, surrounded by lots of different trees and bushes, colours and textures. Close to us we see the trunk, broken branches and rough bark of an ancient tree. Kumbazu says: ‘It’s also good for people who suffer with their mental health. Coming out here helps us to avoid isolating ourselves or just staying indoors.’
In the final picture, we see Kumbazu and Tiitu again, head and shoulders, against an area of open grassland, with grey trees in the distance. To the right, a tall tree with a long, curving trunk and bare branches, is reflected in a pool of still water. In the reflection, the tree looks black against the white of the overcast sky. As Tiitu turns to listen to her, Kumbazu says: ‘This place keeps my mind and life really optimistic.’
This was one of Tiitu Takalo’s artworks for On Our Doorsteps. She created two other artworks with people from the community around Sweet Briar Marshes. A writer, Zakiya Mackenzie, has also created three new text-based artworks for billboards on the reserve.
The project was developed and produced by We Live Here, in collaboration with the Norfolk & Norwich Festival. It is funded by Arts Council England and the Finnish Institute.