Indian/Scottish/Irish | Jamaican/Israeli/Irish
I identify as mixed-race. My Mother’s side is Jamaican/ Israeli/ Irish-British, my Father’s side is Indian/ Scottish/ Irish-British, they are both British born and raised in West London. They met in the early 90s. I was born in West London and lived there for 20 years. I believe I always knew I was mixed, from around the age of 6/7, so when I started primary school. I had asked questions about why my younger siblings and I were ‘different colours’. I had taken the most melanin from my Mum and it had filtered through when my siblings were born. We also wondered why we had different skin tones to our parents, so there were a lot of questions. I think people were surprised to know that I was part Black, throughout my life even to this day most people assume I am South American/ North African or Spanish. I feel like it’s because I don’t have typical mixed-race hair. However, I do tend to find it rather interesting when people try to guess.
West London has a mix of cultures; all sorts of people were about- it was easy for me to identity and learn about my heritage. I’ve always been proud of where I am from. I’ve never had to experience any sort of challenges because of my background, people were just always mainly intrigued. My parents experienced the same up-bringing. Although my Mum was raised by a single White Mother, she still connected to her roots and grew up around a mix of people. My parents had combined their different cultures through music, my Dad started collecting a lot of vinyl at the age of 12, this was mostly Reggae, he was more into Black culture than anything else. In some sense it was as if they had each other’s backgrounds and switched them around.
My environment has never played a part in the friend’s I have made, I’ve been lucky to always have had a mix of people in my life, even though my best friend is mixed herself. We find it quite funny because people tend to ask if we are sisters or cousins as we look quite alike but that’s just coincidence that we became mates. Other than that, I have a range of cultures within my friend group which is wonderful to have.
I’ve been brought up to love everything, all sorts of food, all types of music, I was brought up with a lot of Reggae because of my Father’s love for it. I went to a lot of festivals, one was Mela which celebrates the Asian culture, I remember being obsessed with sari’s, always wanting to wear one, I guess that was my Indian side of me coming out. Concerts have always been a part of me. The first concert I went to was when I was 6; it was a Reggae gig at the Royal Festival Hall, a person called Michael Rose; something I remember very clearly to this day. The way I have my hair is natural, always kept it natural, it’s something that defines me and what many people recognise me by. Friends know it’s me from afar simply because of my hair.
I feel rather lucky to be mixed, I love that it’s an aspect of me where everything can connect and come together. As I grow older, I become much more aware of who I am. After having done a degree in Fine Art, I’ve realised how there’s not a lot of focus on mixed–race art, I want to be able to provide people with a voice and show that within my work. There needs to be a bigger platform for us in the creative world and I hope to be a part of something that can change that. When I heard about this project, I fully supported the concepts of what it wants to achieve. It seems more and more people’s voices are being heard recently, it’s up and coming which is a brilliant thing to see happening. I also definitely think the future is a mixed one.
If I were able to be reborn, I would come back as myself, can’t really go wrong there, like I said, I am proud of who I am and where I am from. If not then I’d be a plant, not sure what type, or perhaps a Cherry Blossom tree, I love nature!