Annabel Rainbow - The Windrush Series

Annabel Rainbow, the Windrush Series, part of the Unravelling History exhibition

at the Leamington Spa Art Gallery.

Fading memories... A history to record

This series of quilt portraits by Annabel Rainbow celebrates resilience, adaptation and identity, reflecting the lives and legacies of the Windrush Generation. This generation of Caribbean migrants arrived in the UK between 1948 and the early 1970s to help rebuild the nation after WWII. They were named for the HMT Empire Windrush, the ship that carried the first arrivals across hte ocean into an uncertain future. They were answering Britain's call for workers, but faced harsh realities of racism, inequality and cultural dislocation.

The quilts weave together the struggles and triumphs of those who journeyed to the UK, seeking new beginnings while navigating these challenges. Each quilt tells a history, blending imagery, intricate stitching, and painted details to capture the essence of their experiences. Faces and hands remain vivid and present, while the facing painting blending into the background fabric is a metaphor for the sense of gradual erasure of identity and culture many imigrants feel as they assimilate into a new society.

The text that makes up the background of each quilt is taken from the sitter's own words. Together these quilts create a visual space where the voices of the Windrush Generation can be preserved, their courage and determination affirmed, and their place in modern Britain celebrated.

George Saunders - Tailor, Birmingham (mixed media: free-hand machine quilting, acrylic on cotton)

George Saunders had a tailor's shop on Hurst Street, Birmingham, which is now a National Trust property (Back to Backs). He learned his sewing skills from his father in the Caribbean, but initially struggled to put them to use in England due to racism. For a time, he worked in a biscuit factory before he was able to grow a client base and open his own successful business.

Marcia Watson - Validation, (mixed media: free-hand machine quilting, acrylic on cotton)

Arriving in the UK at the age of 8, Marcia's life quickly became a battle against prejudice, even from her teachers at school. Marcia's gaze seems to reflect a lifetime of resilience and the gentle tolerance of the beloved teacher she became.

looking closer

Rachel Thomas - Most Racism Was in White Church, (mixed media: free-hand machine quilting, acrylic on cotton)

Rachel rests her hands on a stick as she sits beside a plate of fish and chips - her favourite meal and a symbol of adaptation in a new land and culture. The title of this quilt reflects Rachel's experience of prejudice from a space where she would have hoped to find community and acceptance.

looking closer

Iciline Brown - Rehema Motherland, (mixed media: free-hand machine quilting, acrylic on cotton)

Rahema means mercy in Swahili. Iciline can trace her routes back through slavery to Zanzibar in East Africa. Her words recall her early life in Jamaica and her arrival in England. She was later a victim of the Windrush Scandal, when after a trip to Jamaica, she was refused entry back to the UK and her family. It took three years of struggle to get a biometric card allowing her to travel freely.

looking closer
 

Benjamin Zephaniah - The Background's Too Strong, it Needs to be Whiter, (mixed media: free-hand machine quilting, acrylic on cotton)

Zephaniah was one of Britain's most influential contemporary poets. His mother came to Birmingham from Jamaica in 1957. The ground cloth was printed with original sketches of Birmingham by Rainbow. She then used white paint to tone it down and bring balance. This act of whitewashing the backbround resonated with the experience of many of Rainbow's subjects and inspired the quilt's title.

Benjamin Zephania, Icon, (mixed media: free-hand machine quilting, acrylic on cotton)

The image used for this portrait was provided by Benjamin's wife Qian and captures a moment of pure joy on their wedding day. Extracts from his poet The Men from Jamaica are Settling Down, are stitched on the ground cloth.

looking closer

Finally, not by Annabel Rainbow but by 

Women of the African Caribbean Project - Our Journeys and First Impressions (mixed media)

This is one of three quilts made by members of the African Caribbean Project, which brought together a group of women who came to Leamington in the 1950s and 60s to work in hospitals, in factories, on buses, and in other professions.

Together the group used various fabrics, patterns and applied detail to translate their memories and experiences of migrating to England from the Caribbean. Many of these are mirrored in Annabel Rainbow's Windrush Series. The group meet weekly, and the quilts took just over two years to make.