Friday, June 15, 2018

Windrush Street Art

A couple of great murals by Deanio X commenting on the Windrush scandal which has seen the deportation of people who have been living in the UK for decades. The works, by London Bridge and on the Walworth Road, both feature the words 'Empire Windrush - we built this city - pay your dues'.

As well as the Windrush itself being represented, the imagery of African/Caribbean faces in the ocean and an older ship in one of the murals seems to allude to the transportation of slaves from Africa to the Caribbean as well as the  more recent migration to Britain.  'We built this city' not just literally in terms of post-WW2 labour in construction and transport, but through the wealth accumulated in London from the slave trade. 'Pay your dues' suggests not just treating the WIndrush generation properly but the wider question of reparation for slavery.

Mural on wooden shutters on Borough High Street just south of London Bridge

Walworth Road

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