Developments / The Pitch
A reflection of previous projects has focused my attention on the location, language, identity and history of Cornwall. It is the purpose of this final project to explore these themes in closer detail. The aim will be to discuss the significance of Cornish history and language to discover the true identity of Cornwall and its people. This project aims to answer the question: What are the key characteristics of Cornish identity?
Research has suggested that a small minority of people had identified themselves as being Cornish, in 2018 the population of Cornwall stood at 566,000. Of these, it is estimated that 83,500 consider themselves as being of cornish nationality. (14%)
Historically, the Cornish and English stem from different roots and, although the Cornish homeland is today administered as if it were a part of England, unlike Wales in 1536, it was never legally incorporated into England. Nigel Pengelly 2010
Sigmund Freud describes identity as the person one believes, wishes, or hopes oneself to be, as distinct from the actual object, one’s (or another’s) actual person. Abraham Maslow also describes the need for belonging and to have a sense of connection within his Hierarchy of needs.
The current economic landscape of Cornwall is and has been changing for the past 20 years. With more affordable local homes are being built and the increase of second homes being left vacant for 80% of the year. Cornish people are being priced out of their county. Having voted unanimously to leave the EU, Cornwall is at the very edge of a knife in terms of its economic stability. There are millions of pounds worth of investments throughout Cornwall from the EU, from the Eden project, the A30 to Callywith and Truro College. I am interested in what the future of Cornwall looks like, can this county retain its right history and identity in uncertain times?
Bodmin is under-investment from a range of projects that aims to build better connections with other towns through cycle paths and parks, from luxury hotels and more affordable homes. Bodmin is going through a stage of re-developments and at the heart of this can be found the Into-Bodmin project that aims to raise the profile of the town and community spirit.
In this time of growth and change, I started to think about the identity of Cornwall and Cornish people. In previous projects, I had explored the language and history of this county but thus far I have not explored its people. Who define themselves not as English or British but Cornish. A census identified around 7% of the British population had identified as Cornish by selecting other and writing the term Cornish. This goes some way to demonstrate my point that Cornwall, with its rich history, its language and its inherent sense of identity is being forced into a modern economy that threatens its roots.
I ask the question, what are the key characteristics of being Cornish? What are the values, traditions and identifying characteristics of someone who is truly Cornish? It is argued that you are never truly Cornish unless you were born into a family who has generations rooted in the county. Through a community engagement project, collaborating with Into-Bodmin I aim to explore the identity of Bodmin and the Cornish values. Initial research will include a series of interviews and surveys. From this, I propose in-depth interviews that will be shared as podcasts. These podcasts will aim to interview local people of all ages and backgrounds.
Initial research will explore the history and social culture, from this, I aim to identify a historical link between the viewpoint of cornish identity and its independence from the united kingdom. In addition to this, I believe local literature will support the further in-depth investigation. The use of local museums and archives will support this investigation. Initial contact with the Institute of Cornish studies has been made, from this, I aim to utilise their knowledge to further enhance my background research.
The contextual analysis will explore people responses to the question, What does it mean to be cornish? A questionnaire will be developed to identify key characteristics and importantly gather information of people. I aim to utilise this method of investigation to talk to people and listen to their stories. I believe that people are at the heart of this project and that to gain a better understanding of Cornwall, its culture and history I need to explore stories.
Community engagement projects will aim to support my investigation through the archiving of images and stories. Working with into-Bodmin I aim to build a network of people that have strong links with the county and identify as being cornish. I also aim to connect with a mixture of generations to identify similar themes and characteristics of being Cornish.
It is essential that through this process I remain neutral on all ideas and focus on collecting information. While the conservation of Brexit may arise I do not wish for this to become an overwhelming idea within the project. I aim to use my research to further frame my question and I anticipate that this will support my initial theories and questions about identity and Cornwall.
Artists / Designer Links
Marcus Lyon: traveled brazil to record the sound scapes, DNA and visual identities of its multi cultural societies. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-tJKGZ_xSZ0
Frida Kahlo: considered one of Mexico’s greatest artists, she was inspired by popular culture and native folk art to explore questions of identity, post-colonialism, gender, class, and race in Mexican society.
Grayson Perry: Perry describes himself to be in an ideal position to explore masculinity and roles within modern society. He explains that he is not exempt from the conforms of these roles and does not claim to take on female roles but acknowledges his understanding of these ideas. Perry explores sexuality and British culture within his art. He as also considered the question of masculinity in a modern society. Though a book and film, perry asks the question what does it mean to be a man today?
Shamma Buhazza: Currently working at Adidas in Germany, Shamma is originally from Abu Dhabi and explains in an article to its nice that, She struggles to keep a balance of of work. Identifying that her work for Adidas enabled her to explore western cultures and styles but her self driven work keeps her tied to her homeland. This, she explains is important for her, for someone who does not live in her homeland. Through a series of self initiated project Shamma explores cultural differences and the contrast of economic growth that has arisen in recent years in the UAE. Abu Dhabi is a melting pot of cultures, from the expats western customs of short skirts and alcohol to the traditional local view can create a tensions that creates a segregated society. Shamma draws upon personal interviews, online articles and forums to inspire her work. “This visual interpretation of the cultural divide in Emirates aims to educate viewers to become more encouraging than critical about the cultural division.
Grace Wales Bonner: The 25-year-old design prodigy who won the LVMH Prize earlier this year, continuously explores the nature of a hybrid identity. The matter is quite personal for Bonner, a mixed-race girl who grew up in South London.
Cornwall Magazine
I bought a Cornish Magazine from 1966 in a charity shop this weekend and found this article inside about local government boundary lines.
‘No less that nine Cornish boroughs, most of them with long and ancient histories will loose their independent borough status’
‘In general, it would appear that main objections to the proposals will come from those boroughs soon to lose their identities’
Collaboration
This week I had a chat with the managing director of the community engagement charity into-bodmin. We spoke about current projects and themes of my final MA project. We circled around the idea of identity and asked What is the identity of Bodmin? If places identify as being of fishing, mining or market heritage. What is the identity and heritage of Bodmin? Though this final project I will collaborate and work alongside Fin to answer these questions but to also build upon the work of the charity. We suggested a series of podcasts that interview local people and discuss identity, local history and connections to the town. From there we would build a ‘family tree’ where by the person being interviewed would make a connection to the next person to be interviewed through the podcast. From this meeting I believe that there has been interest in this project from a range of people. I have spoken to students and staff at the college who have provided an insight into what identity is and their relationship to a Cornish identity. There is a long history of this struggle and while I aim to explore this subject there is a lot of ground to cover in a vast area of politics, local culture and personal barriers. The route of my work thus far will continue to build on the initial research undertaken. My outcome for a written piece will explore the making and doing approach discussed by Ben Evan James. This could be an opportunity to go back and speak with Ben about his work in the Kasakstan film that he made that also explored identity.
Bibliography:
The Graphic Design Idea Book: Steven Heller & Gail Anderson (published in 2016 by Laurence King Publishing Ltd.
https://www.sleek-mag.com/article/five-collections-tackling-the-issue-of-identity/
Pixels and Serifs. 