The Axe Forgets, But The Tree Remembers is a multi-voiced portrayal of members of the Windrush Generation and their descendants. Weaving together the experiences of her own family, stories sourced from Hackney Archives and conversations with the borough’s Windrush residents, Whittle’s film highlights the animosity and racism experienced by those who first migrated from the Caribbean to the UK.
In the film, Whittle dissolves the notion of time and space, connecting different narratives, archival material and artworks through hurricanes, the sea and naval history. Together, these references to water play a central role with their symbolism and poignancy to Windrush migration. The dramatic and unsettling backdrop also sets the tone for her conversation with Hackney resident Janice Knight, whose legal battle for justice for the police brutality experienced by her family reflects on the state of uncertainty and precarity which continues to be felt by the Black community today.
The Axe Forgets, But The Tree Remembers is one of the works commissioned as part of the Hackney Windrush Public Programme, curated by Create London in partnership with Hackney Council and funded by the Freelands Foundation.
