Out of South Africa

By Carol Ballard

About the pillowcases

Avoiding the political repercussions of having broken the Immorality Act, disowned by her Johannesburg based family and pregnant with a mixed race child - the hope was to find freedom from segregation and discrimination in England. Dreams take place nightly in a B&B in London's then notorious SussexGardens, in a dark cheerless little room. Although life in England initially was very bleak and South Africa was missed terribly, the dream was that here amongst the diverse culture of modern Britain a future and a sense of belonging would be found. A blend of images and memories are overlaid with words formed into the crosses of the British flag - an incantation of hope for a new life in England. The effect aims to represent the mixing pot of cultures and cross-cultures found in Britain, and the opportunity that diversity can and should allow us: to find, rediscover or recreate an identity of our own.

About Carol Ballard

Carol Ballard is a mixed media artist with an MA in Visual Communications from UCE Birmingham. Recent work includes a solo exhibition at the Warwickshire County Records Office: 'Opening the Victorian Casebooks - Warwick County Lunatic Asylum.' She has also exhibited in group shows at the RaggedSchoolMuseum, the National Trust's CharlecotePark, and at LeamingtonSpaArtGallery.