Rhea Storr: A Protest, A Celebration, A Mixed Message

Rhea Storr, an artist of British and Bahamian heritage, examines her identity as a multiracial individual in her short film A Protest, A Celebration, A Mixed Message. Storr (b. 1991, Leeds, England) intersperses contemporary and historical footage of the West Indian Carnival in Leeds, Yorkshire, UK, comparing the ways in which Afro-Caribbean and white people experience the festivities. She contrasts snippets of Black participants dancing and singing in brilliantly colored costumes adorned with feathers, sequins, and ribbons, with shots of white people observing on the sidelines.

Storr herself is both an observer and a participant in the revelry—she appears in the video wearing a costume decorated with anchor and sun motifs, symbols of the Bahamas, yet she is also the artist behind the camera, observing and documenting the goings-on. Storr thinks of her camera as another eye—a way to understand what is happening around her. That camera is also a tool to help viewers understand her experience operating simultaneously in two worlds.

Rhea Storr (Leeds, England, 1991 - ), A Protest, A Celebration, A Mixed Message, 2018, Super16 Film, colour, 5.1 surround, 11 mins., Courtesy of Rhea Storr and LUX, London.