An Exhibition by Dan Turner as part of Gypsy Maker 4
In his work for TAN Turner examines the dual aspects belonging—of being simultaneously both at “home” and on the “outside”. This characteristic continues to structure Romani identity and Romani unity and how ethnic and familial belonging sit alongside our belonging to landscape and the national territories that we inhabit. His practice explores how mainstream and Traveller culture meet and interact. Here Turner uses transactional objects such as pegs and wooden flowers which are significant to both cultures, and which reflect themes of commercial interchange in Romani life. These objects are used to examine the Roma diaspora and how many different cultures have benefited from Roma expertise including woodworking, recycling, buying and selling, and music and art; activities which have until recently provided a connection between the two communities.
