Credits & Thanks Sweet Fly Paper Mouth In October and November 2012 using the Vanley Burke By the Rivers of Birminam exhibition as an inspiration, mac birmingham, in partnership with Reach, Media Trust and artists Amanda Hemmings, Kate Green, Sam Lockyer and Mikey Godfrey, worked with young people from Oakland s Young People s Centre, Lozells Recreation Group, Reach and wider Birmingham, to develop a range of creative responses to Vanley Burke s exhibition at mac birmingham. Through photography, poetry and film workshops, the project set out to enable young people to creatively document and report upon their own geographical / cultural landscapes, identities and their current situation as young Birmingham residents. Featuring work made by... Lozells Recreation Zakaria Khan Zeshan Khan Foyaz Aahmed Mohammed Syed Esha Mohammed Syed Moosa Hashim Khan Mhjan Ahmed Arbaaz Aziz Shakar Saleem Mohammed Junaid Sodagar Abdi Rahman Ishmail Ali Reach Jordan Harris Jak Rock Lucas McCormack Rohima Begum Enes Mucista Aaron Moreton Oaklands Demi Wilson Ellesse Wilson Adelle Raymond Romel Murry Emil Murry Kaidean Brown Zviwuga Masekesa Jodie Lee Jordan Dawkins Darnell Richards Supported by artists Amanda Hemmings www.amandahemmings.co.uk Kate Green www.kategreen.co.uk Sam Lockyer Mikey Godfrey and the young emerging artists Amerah Saleh Katherine Hannaford www.katherinejanehannaford.com Plus a special thank you to the fantastic partners Lucy Bird & Staff at Reach Shaid Khan & Staff at Lozells Recreation Group Russell Green & Staff at Oakland s Young people s Centre Jessica Odubayo & Amy Spiller, Media Trust And last but not least a big thank you to...vanley Burke and all the team at mac birmingham The Next Generation strand at mac birmingham celebrates work made by, with and for young people, to discover and nurture the Next Generation of creative talent. The sweetflypapermouth project is supported by the Monument Trust. mac birmingham Cannon Hill Park, Birmingham, B12 9QH www.macarts.co.uk SWEET FLY PAPER MOUTH
Just cuz I m wearing a black hoodie and some black jeans doesn t mean I m bad. Hey don t judge me by the way I look. Get to know me, Get to like me, You never know what you might find inside me. You could be my bro, We could be friends And then work together to help make amends. By Hashim Khan, Shakar Saleem, Mhjan Ahmed, Mohammed Syed Moosa This is how people stereotype me, It s not how i want to be. There s a lot of people in the mixed community, We should live together, with love and unity. I might be Muslim, but terrorism is not my fate, Sisters wear scarves because of their faith. Immature riots cause all this hate, But this is both mine and your community space. So whatever our culture, whatever our faith We could fit together cuz this worlds a big place. We could live in unity, put together our hopes, Put aside our differences and just have some jokes. By Hashim Khan, Shakar Saleem, Mhjan Ahmed 1 2
Hope on my left side, Dreams on my right, Reality in my eyes, that s why they aren t too bright. What s to moan about? Some thing s still faze me; Walking on the road got the fed looking cold, Got the old woman with her stick crossing the road And the man winking and blinking, What are they all thinking? Twinkle, twinkle little. Wish I was the star but my dream of that is still very far. You don t know me, You just look at my colour and auto judge me by my cover, You can t read me that easily, You think I m cheeky, but that s cause you don t understand me. I m something you need to study. By Jodie Lee Judgement day will come when man and women will lie down and take the consequences. The society we live in isn t a safe place for us children, But it s life. Knife crime and gun crime spreads across this nation, Pure innocent lives are taken, But to this very day NO blame is taken. I m running and running down Soho Road, Feds have stopped us, there s nowhere to go. They start asking us questions, But for us it s just an ordinary day. People see us as the neighbourhood troublemakers, But they don t know us. I have ambition but my appearance doesn t seem to spread my dream. I keep all my ideas locked up in the closet, But one day I will come out of my shell and finish what I started, Is this acceptable? Should us young people have to go through this fire and pain charging through our veins? Drops of water tremble down our innocent child-like eyes. We are still children and are hearts are filled with mixed emotions. YOU don t see that, because you are judgemental. Black souls are trapped behind bars, many eyes filled up with fire, I just keep my chin up high and follow my desire, Step by step I m aiming higher! This isn t me just trying to be smart, This is coming from a girl that you see on road, that you judge. Inside my heart it feels blue, but you wouldn t know that because you haven t got a clue. I m mixed-race don t get mistaken, whatever you may label, I am ME. I m not red skin I m not quarter cast I m not black I m not white I m mixed-race, my mum s white and my dad s black and I m proud of that! I m one of Gods creations. If you cut my skin, you ll see my blood is red; I m the same as the rest! By Kaidean Brown 3 4
Check my life this little mixed race child, Growing up in the hood forced to see this life so wild. I might smile on occasions, But look into my eyes and see the fire blazing. My hearts asking so much, got too many thoughts, Life s not a game, it s not what I thought. By Romel Murry The wind whistled beneath the trees, Moon shining down on me. The path stretches into the distance, Pebbles crunching beneath me, I pace along the path breathing heavier as I go. A break for the trees reveals such menace, As a boy in a hoodie stands stern. I take a deep breath and keep pacing on. As I get closer my heart beat races, Until I eventually we come face to face. Dressed all in black and looking tough, My tears are recognised as he approaches me. He opens his mouth, About to release his violent tongue, Then he says, Good evening. By Aaron Moreton Have you ever felt like it is hard to cope? You have to believe in yourself even though it seems there s no hope. Never give up, achieve your dreams Cuz nothing is as hard as it firstly seems. Yeah, instead of being rough, I m earning people s trust, Respect and dignity, now that s a must. Zakaria Khan, Zeshan Khan, Mohammed Junaid Sodagar 5 6
Who Are you? Who am I standing in front of you? Who are you, who, who? Do you have an answer to the question? Are you a falling star, falling to your doom? Who are you in this world? Do you kill people? Do you take drugs to take away your pain? Do you have an identity? Are you a villain destroying lives? You are not a falling star falling to our doom! You are somebody in this world! You don t have to take drugs to take away the pain! Just think,think,think! And you can have a sunny day. By Darnell Richards I m young and gentle and my emotions are scattering, Flying, flying, flying high. I ask myself why, why, why I m going mental inside,till I feel a tear in my eye. My emotions run deep like the oceans exploding. My childhood wasn t perfect like a complete circle, People will know and still be judgemental No good parental skills, They d argue and quarrel like an instrumental And then they d disappear as if they ve rolled down hills. People used to say my mind runs in slow motions, But for those out there, it s not me, just my emotions. My feelings are frozen like they ve been buried deep down within the Atlantic Ocean because I grew up watching how my parents split up and left me with confused emotions. My heart, my heart is fully broken and bitter, It sounds as if my feelings haven t spoken. I try to hide my true feelings but they can sometimes fall like weak cement between a brick wall, Half of my life story hides behind two trapped doors fighting its way out, digging holes in the walls. To the best mother ever We your children stand Forever by your side now And wish to lend our hand Though we fall far short most times Of your expectations You pick us up and dust us off Then show us your creations While we slip and fall You have set the way With the path that we should follow Each and every day And so it is our dear mother We wish to thank you so For being there when needed Helping us to grow. By Emil Murry My life hasn t been particularly perfect but I m letting it be turned into Niagara Falls I will one day let my emotions and feelings fly free and fast like the peregrine falcon. I will let them all out, I will let my stories finally break through those walls. One day I will finally be free, Free to have the opportunity to just become me, To be more confident and express myself, I want to be the young me. My dream is for everyone to show love and be loved. Just like Martin Luther s dream, I too will break free. By Adelle Raymond 7 8
I m scared to bring up my children in a society like this, With guns that shriek like the sound of lightning. I m scared to bring up my children in a society like this, With the patronising and undermining. I m scared to bring up my children in a society like this, Because the expression of art and dance is being pushed with such carelessness. I m scared to bring up my children in a society like this. People are losing the will to express themselves. Through the expression of feeling it can bring the rhythm of a person s heartbeat to life in poetry and music. With the sound of poetry and music there can be a new spark of life; A new start, a new rhythm, a new expression of feeling. By Lucas McCormack Feel like the world is slipping, Leaving kids in the city flipping. Making bad decisions that aren t clever, Carrying guns and knives that end lives. Playing ball in the park, past midnight, Whilst people are sleeping. Making a nuisance for the elderly couple cuddling in bed where it is subtle. Waiting for the morning, for the day to grow. By Jordan Harris The things some people have seen and felt, You know the world couldn t be helped. It s hard to know what people are thinkin Spendin all day takin drugs and drinkin. Take a good look at your city or town, Knives, robbery s and people on brown. I ve seen this hell before, Fully grown men pickin up fags off the floor. What s with the attraction to guns or a needle? We re like puppets addicted to evil. We need to try to fix the life we ve created, It s like a world war and by nature we re hated. We need to fix this life we ve created, People and demons shouldn t be related. By Jak Rock People lost their lives, I will never forget what happened, It ruined people s relationships with their families and friends, By Rohima Begum and Enes Mucista 9 10