MOTHERSHIP (2021-22)

MOTHERSHIP is the umbrella for all of Jaz Morrison’s music-based performance, as well as any publications or 'responses' that may arise from them. Though in early stages, Jaz intends to use MOTHERSHIP as a site to explore the Black/African Diaspora, Afrofuturism, Spiritualities & Religion, and Musical & Ritual Performance.

MOTHERSHIP exists to encourage community care, memory-making, and occupying space.

Firmament/Mothership

firmament (2021)

As part of IKON's 2021 Migrant Festival, Jaz Morrison collaborated with Millicent B James, the Word Life Corral, and Ikon Youth Programme (IYP) to perform Firmament at Centrala.

Written by Jaz, Firmament is a sendoff song, exploring the movement of the Black Diaspora across sea, sky, and land. It stands as a musical tribute to, and celebration of, the infinite and ongoing passengers of the Ship Called Jesus.

Firmament has since been incorporated into MOTHERSHIP, a roster of collaborative and musical performance art.

Commissioned by IKON Gallery in response to Keith Piper's 1991 and 2021 exhibitions A Ship Called Jesus. Performed at Ikon's fourth annual Migrant Festival (14 July – 17 July 2022).

A special thanks to Ikon Gallery, Freelands Foundation, Ikon Youth Programme, Centrala, and Word Life Centre.

Press Release HERE

Jaz is sat beside a table with her laptop on, connected to a television. The television is on a stand and showing a presentation that Jaz is gesturing to.

A modern television on a stand showcases a presentation slide. The title reads: IYP's Involvement?

Members of Ikon Youth Programme crouch over a table littered with newspaper and magazines.

A 2D paper plane, adorned with a papery candy-cane-styled exhaust. A result of the first activity of the session.

A bird's eye view of five paper designs on a table, like ornaments. One is a plane; two are fans; another, a bird; and the final one resembles a flower, with its lotus petals spread out.

Two members of Ikon Youth Programme stand together holding shimmering, gold-coloured flags. The flags drape downwards and out of shot – a bit like a bath towel on a rack. Between them, in the distance is an older woman from the Word Life Corral, dressed in black and wearing sunglasses. Her head is tilted downwards, and she holds onto her arm. Tree leaves fill the background of the photograph, obscuring the sky.

WhatsApp Image 2023-02-25 at 07.25.08.jpeg

Millicent James, a Black woman with glasses and an afro, smiles to a person offscreen while holding a cello. In the background is the blue-and-yellow Ikon slow boat.

The Word Life Corral, three middle aged Black women all dressed in black, perform song 'Firmament'. Behind them is the blue-and-yellow Ikon slow boat.

Jaz is sat outside, playing a keyboard. She is wearing a black jumpsuit, but has a bright yellow windbreaker draped over her lap. Millicent is sat near Jaz with her cello, looking towards Jaz's keyboard and pulling a surprised face with pursed lips.

Due to rain, the second performance was moved into Centrala gallery. The lights are off, leaving hints of natural light and a blurry projection of Keith Piper's film to light the room. Over the shoulder of someone with dark hair, we see Two and a half of the Word Life Corral, with much of them hidden by the shadows.

Jaz sits on a chair on a small platform at Ikon Gallery. A mic is on a stand and has been positioned for her to speak into. Jaz is mid-blink; she has a single-use mask tucked under her chin. Jacob Carter's arm and leg protrudes into the frame ever so slightly, as he is sat beside her. Jacob was in Ikon Youth Programme, and was in conversation with Jaz about the project they did.

A bird's eye view of two pages from Ikon Youth Programme's 2022 publication, summarising the projects they did involving the slow boat. The publication has a ring binder, and white pages with blue-hued photographs. On the first page are two small photographs – one of Millicent playing the cello by the slow boat; and one of Ikon Youth Programme members mid-performance, holding sheets up and obscuring their bodies and faces. Taking up the entire second page is a photograph of the Word Life Corral, singing in front of the slow boat. Written over the photograph in a capitalised font is 'FIRMAMENT'

MOTHERSHIP (2022)

Jaz Morrison collaborated with Musician Millicent B James, the Word Life Corral, and Ikon Youth Programme (IYP) to perform Firmament and

Get a Life at The New Art Gallery Walsall. The performance name, MOTHERSHIP, now refers to a roster of collaborative and musical performance art.

Written by Jaz, Get a Life takes inspiration from gospel and blues to reflect on Keith Piper's methods of storytelling and foretelling. Morrison considered themes of surveillance, technology, and Speculative Blackness, employing motifs reminiscent of The Matrix, Disney's Hercules, and Robert Palmer's Addicted to Love music video.

Commissioned by IKON Gallery in response to Keith Piper's 2022 exhibition Jet Black Futures at The New Art Gallery Walsall. Performed at The New Art Gallery Walsall, Saturday 23 April 2022, 3pm.

A special thanks to Ikon Gallery (special mention to Rosie Abbey), The New Art Gallery Walsall, Ikon Youth Programme, Word Life Centre

Press Releases HERE and HERE and HERE.

On a table is a sign made from foil, cardboard, and black tape. It has been shaped to look like an eye.

A small pile of masks, all with different designs. One is spiky and covered in foil. Another is a deep dark blue that fades into black, with white painted dots creating a border between them.

A member of Ikon Youth Programme holds a handmade sign in front of her face. The sign is black with a metallic handle. Smeared across it in red paint is, 'smile' in capital letters.

Three members of Ikon Youth Programme hold sheet-like materials, as a placeholder for flags that they might use in the performance.

A notice on pink paper in a small frame, in an elevator at The New Art Gallery Walsall.

The text reads:

Jaz crouches at a table, playing a keyboard. Behind her stand the Word Life Corral, three older Black women. All four of them are dressed in black. The wall making up the background is covered in newspaper print. Jaz really liked this, as the motif shows up in her work sometimes.

Three members of Ikon Youth Programme stand with their side profiles facing the camera. They hold the signs they had made during the workshops, including 'SMILE'. The other two signs are held away from the camera.

Millicent James, a Black woman in sunglasses and black clothes, sits playing her cello. Her hair is bright blue. To her left, but more in the background, stand the Word Life Corral, singing.

Millicent plays her cello facing away from the camera, with only her cat-eye sunglasses, her blue afropuff hair, and the cello's scroll in view. Peaking over the top of her head are the side profiles of Jaz and the Word Life Corral, singing. Jaz is playing a keyboard.

Members of Ikon Youth Programme hold up sheets together, mid-routine. Behind them and to the left is Millicent, playing her cello.

The ground floor stairway at The New Art Gallery Walsall. Jaz and her keyboard; and Millicent and her cello are at the bottom of the stairs, facing the foyer where there is an audience. A few steps above them are the Word Life Corral, with lyric sheets. At the very top of the stairway on the first floor are the members of Ikon Youth Programme, holding the signs they made during earlier workshops.

The side profiles of the Word Life Corral as they perform 'Get a Life'. All three of them hold up lyric sheets. At the bottom right of the picture is the back of Millicent's head, as well as the cello's scroll.

A post performance picture. Jaz and Millicent face the camera with slightly braggadocious expressions. Jaz has an arm around Millicent, and a hand in her pocket. Millicent's cello case is on her back.

A post performance picture. The Word Life Corral, Millicent, Jaz, and artist Keith Piper pose for a picture in the upstairs gallery. Keith is a bald, older Black man with a goatee. He gestures towards the camera as the women smile and grimace for the camera.

can't see the 'Get a Life' video? click here

can't see the 'firmament' video? click here

ERROL

IN LOVING MEMORY OF ERROL
(2021-2)

tTHANK YOU TO OUR CONTRIBUTORS:

MEYA LINDO - Meya is a Birmingham-based poet and teaching assistant, studying criminology and psychology at Coventry University. Lindo uses her gifts to witness and express her love for God. When she is on social media, she can be found on Instagram.

FRED FABRE - iconic symbols, tales, and narratives are happily intertwined throughout the various styles of Fred Fabre's rendering of life. The paintings are a continual interrogation of colour and form as a means to explore the essence and energy of various concepts Fabre is interested in.

TAMIR DAVID - Tamir describes his work as 'the inner workings of distress'. David draws from personal experiences of environment and displacement, working from a range of visual references to create a 'hybrid of mental and physical realms coinciding'. David uses acids, solvents, asphalt, ink, pencil, and gouache on paper or wood, aiming to fuse the 'media with the material' through trial and error.

BRMTWN - a West Midlands-based platform and online/offline space for creativity, storytelling, and community building.

WORD LIFE CENTRE - Word Life is a charity and church based in Newtown, Birmingham. Contributions were made by Word Life members, including the Word Life Corral (Patricia Morrison, Prisca Bako & Monica Gutzmore), and the Litty Committee (Chenell Robinson, Ethan Fenton, Oduware Koudou, Shivani Mathyalagan & Zachariah Akeem).

IKON YOUTH PROGRAMME - IYP is a group of young people (16 - 21) who share an interest in contemporary art, and meet to engage with artists and exhibitions. Run by Rosie Abbey. Contributions made by Rosie Abbey, Jacob Carter & Kristal Fu.

IN LOVING MEMORY OF ERROL is a publication stylised as a funeral pamphlet, to celebrate the lives of those on the Ship Called Jesus (Piper, 1991, 2021). Errol is a name associated with Antillean* men, meaning 'nobleman', 'warrior', or 'prince'.

Contributors came from creatives and community groups already involved in the project, as well as others responding to a call out distributed online.

'Errol' explores themes presented in Keith Piper's film A Ship Called Jesus (Redux) (2021), and project A Ship Called Jesus (1991). It retroactively honours the life of Errol, an abstract and representative passenger on the Ship Called Jesus, and is designed to complement Jaz's sendoff song Firmament (2021).

This publication was created in response to Keith Piper's A Ship Called Jesus (1991), Jaz Morrison's Firmament (2021), and conversations that arose during workshops with Ikon Youth Programme.

Commissioned by Ikon Gallery, funded by the Freelands Foundation, and curated by Jaz Morrison between August 2021 and January 2022.

THANK YOU TO OUR CONTRIBUTORS:

ANGE NZEYIMANA - born in Burundi, East Africa, Ange is a poet, spoken word artists, and author. Nzeyimana is a devout Christian, and student mental health nurse 'by day'. With writing at the forefront of her aspirations, Nzeyimana's debut anthology Echoes of My Heart is available now.

TANAZIA GABRIEL-FLEARY

FÁBIO JORGE "CALUNGZ" CALUNDUNGO is a Birmingham-based filmmaker. A ‘Film and Animation’ alum and BRMTWN member, Calungz is interested in working with various media forms to tell stories and make films. With filmmaking and photography as his primary practices, Fábio builds visual languages, primarily dabbling in short films and video installations.

MIKE BROWN - Mike runs Free Roots, a St. Louis, Missouri-based offline/online platform for Black cultural curation, organising, history, aesthetics, and advocacy.

IRINA NOVIKOVA - an artist and illustrator, primarily using watercolour, ink, gouache, and acrylic. Novikova enjoys experimentation and mixing materials, and gravitates to environmental topics and symbolism.

can't see 'errol'? click here

MOTHERSHIP (2021-22)

firmament (2021)

MOTHERSHIP (2022)

IN LOVING MEMORY OF ERROL (2021-2)

IN LOVING MEMORY OF ERROL
(2021-2)