Simone England (she/her)
My creative practice is research-based driven by a curiosity for uncovering untold stories, with conceptual thinking and idea generation being the foundation. My work is driven by discovering the visual language within unconventional themes and includes a wide range of mediums and techniques which are rooted and informed by my research. I am currently most excited by working with the design possibilities within archival material, film, and typographic solutions.
Currently exploring themes of belief systems, historical storytelling, and niche points of interests.
The End is Nigh
A selection of interviews, memoirs and reviews of 8 authors detailing their experiences within high control religious groups.
‘The End is Nigh’ documents the experiences from the initial process of indoctrination through to realisation, loss and finding one’s own identity after leaving. This publication seeks to give a platform to and amplify the voices of those who have experienced and persevered through religious trauma as well as insight into the process of indoctrination and the appeal of high control groups.
DIVINE VIOLENCE FILM
Merging audio from televangelist Kenneth Copeland’s sermon ‘Wind of God’ and Eola’s transcendent song ‘Future Hymns’ with archived footage of tropical storms. Influenced by the ethos behind Adam Broomberg and Oliver Chanarin’s ‘Holy Bible’, this film acts as a visual translation for the essay ‘Divine Violence’ by philosopher Adi Ophir. Visualising the ‘divine violence’ of God and how in society religious figures can embody this violent energy. Rather than drawing on the personal experiences of religion, instead this film draws parallels between violent weather and religious ideology, using weather as a metaphor.
DIVINE VIOLENCE
Penguin Book Cover Award
Cover design for Dara McAnulty’s Diary of a Young Naturalist.
Taking inspiration from traditional cyanotype processes and digital collage.
Sweet like Molasses
A series of posters documenting the history of Trinidad’s Carnival, from its origins as an act of resistance during slavery against French and British colonial powers.
Originating from the sugar plantations, these posters are printed in molasses directly referencing Carnival’s tie to the Transatlantic sugar trade.
A Brief History of Trinidad Carnival
“Canboulay, a ceremony in which the landowners dressed up as ‘negres
jardins’ (garden slaves) and imitated the processions that occurred whenever a sugar cane field caught fire. Slaves would be brought from surrounding plantations and would be made to process the sugar before it soured.With emancipation in 1833, the newly freed slaves took over Canboulay, now imitating their former masters imitating them. With this metamorphosis, however, the once-aristocratic celebration took a more popular turn.
The British, who colonized Trinidad in 1797, banned the drum, considering its sensual, primal rhythms an incitement to danger; in response, the people developed the tambour-bamboo (or tamboo-bamboo) bands, using different lengths of bamboo, hollowed out and beaten with a stick or against the road. These too were banned, and the people took to beating garbage can lids, gas tanks, anything metal they could get their hands on. From these humble beginnings came the steel drum, which makes the distinctive musical sound of Trinidad and Tobago.”
– ‘Looking Ahead to Carnival; Trinidad’ The New York Times, 1986
A concertina publication acting as a visual timeline allowing the reader to fully extend its pages and interact with history. Documenting the lesser known history of Trinidad Carnival (a precursor Notting Hill Carnival) and how Carnival started as an act of resistance. The dimensions of this publication is that of a standard vinyl record, referencing the integral part the music and records of Trinidadian calypsonian musicians played in Carnival history.
