The Memorial Roll Chinatown: A Journey through Time

Time goes by; we often fail to realise how fast it does. The previous sentence you read is already in the past. Can you believe it? Take a time and reflect how many past events, memories or traditions are remembered. The fact is that engrossed in our daily life, we often overlook what endears us most... 

This realisation pushed my usually under-explored creative prowess to think deep; I persistently desired about a memorial that conveys stories from the past that our present eyes cannot tell. This structure would focus our glance on the history that we overlook or are unaware of.

 


Pictures were the answer. Images, despite being still, release deep - sometimes vague - emotions. The interpreter is left to analyse for himself what the photographer wishes to tell. This uncertainty further sparked my interest: I wanted onlookers to understand for themselves the history that these pictures tell, rather than impose my perspective. 

Yet, pictures need a structural base that holds them steady without hindering their meaning. Above all, the exposition had to be creative. The hardest part was to achieve an artistic look that resists harsh outdoor weather conditions. I am grateful to my friends who propelled the idea of using bicycle wheels. 

The concept was to depict the ‘Circle of Life’. Old wheels, with their rusty parts, achieved the vintage and rustic look. They set the mood already.

 


As onlookers glance at the structure, they are naturally driven to rotate the wheel. Hence, pictures arranged in a particular order on these wheels would influence the story that the artwork tells. 



 
I decided to illustrate a transition between the old - and mostly unknown - Chinatown and the present day. The Chinese community - with their businesses, food culture and mentality - has shaped a significant part of Mauritian history. Much of it resides at the heart of the Chinese settlement: Chinatown.

Some memories are engraved in a past we cannot reach anymore. Roll this wheel and experience a journey through time...


Ani-Keith Teeluckdharry
July 2020  

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