​Anti-cool

​FACT 

88 Wood Street

Liverpool

L1 4DQ

15th January 2024

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The artist Anti-cool invited Waugh Office to participate in a screening of Tea and Sugarcane a film that follows the lives of three people, two of whom are victims of human trafficking in the UK.

 

Through visual montage and interviews, we share their upbringings, families and childhood dreams and discover the triggers that makes for such a risky path, revealing the real stories of behind these situations. 

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Alongside Tea and Sugarcane, Anti-cool also presented recent experimental audio-visual works: Echo Tides and Wind, Land and Sea.

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This event includes a discussion with Anti-cool, also known as Tomoko Freeman and Mark Waugh, plus an artist audience Q&A.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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"Firstly, In 2018 I completed a film titled On Returning which explores migration from the opposite end and tells the tales of British families, separated or disrupted from living with their non-British family members by current immigration policies. I had similar experiences myself so I had an urge to explore this subject matter. During the process of collecting materials, I heard stories of contemporary slavery in the UK. Moreover, that the UK is a hub for the illegal transportation of exploited workers to other countries after they’ve come to Britain. My initial urge to make the film came from my own experiences as a migrant and the almost impossible financial restrictions that separate families and divide the rich and poor.

 

In terms of human rights, through talking to people such as those in the film I learned that it is as basic and as sad as this, if money and cheap labour are to be had, human rights no longer exist. My frustration at this the became the real reason for wanting to make this work.

 

Secondly, as an artist who lives in Liverpool, I’ve been interested in making artwork which reflects the local history. Liverpool was one of Britain’s main ports during the Transatlantic Slave Trade and although this is a highly sensitive topic I decided to use such references in the work. These issues are integrated into the historical landscape as is the later exploitation of the working classes during the Industrial Revolution. In the film these elements are signified through the use of imagery of a specific Liverpool based slave ship, and imagery of the Manchester to Liverpool shipping canal. Through this project, I realised the exploration of such political landscapes and their histories have become an essential part of my work."

 

 

 

Anti-cool is a Liverpool based artist, is originally from Japan, whose work explore social systems and the influence of globalisation on people whose lives are marginalised, revealing borders that separate histories intrinsic to landscapes. 

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Recent exhibitions/screenings include Directory at The Wrong Biennale (Online, 2023-24), HOME (Manchester, 2023), International Day for Monuments and Sites at Aveiro City Museum (Portugal, 2022), Toynbee Studios at Artsadmin (London, 2019)

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The event is supported by Arts Council England.