Part of Becontree Forever, commissioned by Create London, UK, 2021—2022
Image Gallery
Project Information
Coinciding with the building of the Becontree Estate a small wooden statue, now known as the Dagenham Idol, was discovered on the site of the old Ford factory. Now on permanent display at Valence House Museum, this small ungendered effigy dates back to the late Neolithic or early bronze age.
Looking at maps of ancient British sites and aerial photographs of the Becontree Estate, Zahedi was drawn to their similarities, in particular their circular formations relating to ancient processes of marking the landscape. These are often described as memory palaces by anthropologists.
Inspired by this idea of Becontree being reframed as a modern-day memory palace, Abbas will work with Arc Theatre’s young women’s group, Raised Voices, who are based at Kingsley Hall. Historically this youth-led group has functioned as a safe space for members to produce work around themes of mental health and their day to day lives on the estate. For Zahedi this resonated with the Hall’s radical history and link to the influential psychiatrist RD Laing, who was known for his contributions to the ‘anti-psychiatry’ movement, and the setting up of community-based approaches to mental health.
Zahedi will draw together ideas around memory loci and Laing’s thinking to embark upon a process of research and collaborative story-telling with the group to enable them to form contemporary oral mythologies based on their own experiences and sites of significance in Becontree. These new myths will serve as a symbolic continuation of the story of the idol and will become the basis for performance pieces presented at an event for the residents.
Zahedi’s film and the painted Idols made as part of the project have subsequently been exhibited in exhibitions such as Divided Selves: Legacies, Memories, Belonging, curated by Hammad Nasar MBE with Rosie Addenbrooke and Alice Swatton at Herbert Art Gallery & Museum, Coventry, UK.
Video Excerpt
Credits
Abbas Zahedi, We Don’t Know Where We Are In The Drama, 2021.
Featuring:
Arc Theatre’s Raised Voices
Community Theatre Project
Princess Anifel
Beautiful Ayogu
Lullah Coles
Inayah Gazouni
Jayne Grace
Elle Hayes
Emily Hill
Macie Kent
Sarah Lethbridge
Stacey Levit
Sofi Martin
Eloise Miller
Leah-Adele Moore-Saunderson
Stephanie Read
Maxx Spink
Tahlia Warner
Funmi Ugwu
Natalie Smith
Eva Crompton
Lotte Akehurst
Nita Bocking
Theresa Snooks
Michalis of Basement 94 Ltd
Scenic Design Realisations
Madelon Vriesendorp
Special Guest
and
The Dagenham Idol(s)
2021
Filmed and Edited: Abbas Zahedi
Assistant Editor: Nikolai Azariah
Assistant Camera: William Barylo
Sound Design and mix: Abbas Zahedi
Visual effects: Final Cut Pro
Filmed in Dagenham, Kingsley Hall, Becontree Estate and Valence House Library.
With special thanks to:
May Abdalla
Joanna Bradford
Mark Bramfitt
Anthony Browne
Rachel Dunlop
Barry Gene-Murphy
Arsalan Isa
Steve Karas
Julia Muggenburg
Habda Rashid
Karen Rushton
Toby Üpson
This video and its content is copyright of Abbas Zahedi © 2021. All rights reserved.
Commissioned by Create London and supported by The National Lottery Heritage Fund. The work forms part of Becontree Forever and was made to mark the centenary of the Becontree Estate in 2021.
Further information about the project can be seen on Create London’s website source
Abbas Zahedi // عباس زاهدی // abbzah.com 