Forgotten Black Essex: Hester and Hester Woodley, 2018 (Film one)

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HD digital video, sound

6: 51 minutes (1:09 minute except)

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Edition of 3 and 1 AP

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Filmed in Harlow, Essex

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The Forgotten Black Essex film duo marks a period of research conducted between 2018 and 2022 that examines Black lives within the historical context of Essex. Drawing on archival sources from national archives, they uncover stories previously neglected within prevailing accounts of British history.

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At the centre of this first film is Hester Woodley, an enslaved woman brought from a plantation on Saint Kitts to Harlow, Essex in 1741. Her life is partially documented in parish records and other archival sources, alongside that of her granddaughter, also named Hester. 

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"My approach to working with these two accounts of archival documentation is not just to retell or reenact them. Rather, I am curious to ground them in the present by layering a contemporary lens that reinterprets how the two stories resonate with me as a Black woman living in Essex today." Elsa James

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Credits:

Forgotten Black Essex was conceived, written and produced by Elsa James as a pilot project funded through a research and development grant from Arts Council England with an additional small grant from Southend-on-Sea Borough Council. Partnership support from Metal, Take the Space and Autograph ABP, and collaborative support from S I Martin, researcher; Andy Delaney, moving image director; Amaal Said, still images; Hester Woodley, the Granddaughter by Mandisa-Iman Thompson and Gareth Jones, sound recordist.

 

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Screening history:

2022 - Focal Point Gallery, UK

2019 - Firstsite, Colchester, UK

2018 - Autograph ABP, UK

2018 - Metal, Southend, UK