Gut Feelings Meri Jaan is a series of films by the artist Jasleen Kaur made in collaboration with a group of women and gender non-conforming people from Rochdale’s Pakistani, Bengali and Punjabi communities. The films are part of an exhibition at Touchstones Rochdale (until 13 February 2022) and for two days you can also discover them in various locations around Rochdale and Littleborough.
The starting point for the films was a series of online workshops and conversations which took place throughout lockdown. During these conversations, Jasleen invited the group to think about the local history archive at Touchstones and to consider who is represented or remembered in telling the story of Rochdale’s past. The films interrogate how cultural memory is preserved, exploring ideas around identity, inheritance, migration, ritual and healing. Weaving together extracts from the group’s conversations with modified cultural traditions, performed by the group in site-specific locations in and around Rochdale, the films raise questions about established archival structures and highlight the hidden histories and missing voices, particularly those of migrant communities.
Locations:
Haji Cloth House
Address: 35-37 Tweedale Street, Rochdale, OL11 1HH
Opening times: Friday 11th Feb, 12 – 4pm | Saturday 12th Feb, 12 – 4pm
Films being shown: Yoghurt (compilation of 3 films)
Better Together Building
Address: 54 Yorkshire Street, Rochdale, OL16 1RH
Opening times: Friday 11th Feb, 12 – 4pm | Saturday 12th Feb, 12 – 4pm
Films being shown: Farm and Seeds & Chillies
Rochdale Pioneers Museum
Address: 31 Toad Lane, Rochdale, OL12 0NU
Opening times: Friday 11th Feb, 12 – 4pm | Saturday 12th Feb, 10.30am – 12pm
Films being shown: Archive
Ebor Studios
Address: Ebor Studios, William Street, Littleborough, OL15 8JP
Opening times: Friday 11th Feb, 12 – 4pm | Saturday 12th Feb, 12 – 4pm
Films being shown: Selection of all films
Spotland Library
Address: Spotland Library, Ings Lane, Rochdale, OL12 7AL
Opening times: Friday 11th Feb, 12 – 4pm | Saturday 12th Feb, 9am – 1pm
Films being shown: Archive and Seeds & Chillies
Films:
Archive (66 mins)
Filmed in the archives of the Local Studies Centre at Touchstones, newspaper clippings and documents from the Ethnic Minorities collection, featuring reports and first-hand accounts of those who migrated from the Indian subcontinent and settled in Rochdale are read aloud and subsequently consumed and digested.
Farm (12 mins)
Walking barefoot through the verdant fields of a Lancashire farm and surrounded by cows, the group recite extracts from conversations they have shared about their lived experiences, feelings of belonging and the legacies that are transferred from one generation to the next. The human body represents a living archive and carrier of histories, both collectively and individually.
Seeds & Chillies (2 mins)
In South Asian culture Chillies are often burned to ward off the ‘evil eye’ or burning hermal seeds to cleanse or purify the home.
Yoghurt: Step washing (31 mins), John Bright Statue (4 mins), Hair washing (2 mins)
Filmed at local sites bound up in histories of Empire and post-war migration from former colonies, including the statue of a local industrialist, members of the resulting diasporas wash stone and concrete with handfuls of yoghurt — living culture — the same thick, tart, dhai served alongside biryani that has properties to heal the gut, where trauma is stored, and a home remedy for natural hair care.
All films will be subtitled with English captions. Booking not required, but please be aware that COVID-19 safety precautions are in place at all venues. You can download the map below to locate all venues:
Gut Feelings Meri Jaan by Jasleen Kaur is commissioned by UP Projects in partnership with Touchstones Rochdale. Created in collaboration with Alina Akbar, Nasrine Akhtar, Rizwana Ali, Shakra Butt, Rahela Khan and Bushra Sultana.
Gut Feelings Meri Jaan is generously funded by Heritage Lottery Fund, Foyle Foundation, the Garfield Weston Foundation, Rochdale Borough Council and Arts Council England.