Difficult Conversations. We Have Met Before. We Suffer To Remain.

Three downloadable pdf publications titled Difficult Conversations, We Have Met Before and We Suffer To Remain.

These publications document and comment on Graham Fagen's public talks and exhibitions in Barbados, Trinidad and Tobago, Jamaica and the Bahamas.

We Suffer To Remain is the third project presented as part of Difficult Conversations, a 2-year programme of cultural exchange organised by the British Council between Scotland and the Caribbean inspired by Graham Fagen’s artwork for the 2015 Venice Biennale The Slave’s Lament.
The Slave’s Lament is a multi-channel video and sound installation re-examining Scotland’s links to the Caribbean through its role in the transatlantic slave trade. The work takes its title from the Robert Burns’ poem of the same name, his only work to empathise with the appalling hurt of the displaced, the trafficked and the enslaved. A beautiful lyric written over 200 years ago, it is a narrative that remains entirely contemporary as we think of current tragedies unfolding on borders and in hinterland locations. Performed by the Scottish Ensemble and Reggae singer Ghetto Priest, Graham Fagen’s work raises questions about cultural influences and historic legacies today.
The first iteration of Difficult Conversations took place in 2015 and comprised of residencies, conversations and exchanges between Scotland and the Caribbean. The second manifestation was We Have Met Before, an exhibition at the National Gallery of Jamaica featuring work by Graham Fagen, Joscelyn Gardener, Ingrid Pollard and Leasho Johnson. We Suffer To Remain brings the project to The Bahamas and will be accompanied by an e-publication available from April 2018.