The Treatment Rooms - Zulu VooDoo Liberation Taxi

I'm going to take my text directly from the kickstarter campaign which reached it's amazing total late last week. The team had ploughed on to complete it in the sheer hope that everyone would come together and raise £5000.00. They passed that mark and people kept donating.

The words of the artists who have dreamed up this project are far better than anything I could possibly write, so I'll leave it with you here and if you would like to find out more about the campaign, please click these words here. And if you would like to find out more about The treatment rooms and Carrie Reichardt, please click these words here! 

Welcome to the world of Extreme Craftivism. Ready to step in side?
Extreme Craftivism--meaning-- A serious dose of specific and unfettered political medicine. The Art and Craft of Politics
The Treatment Rooms Collective - The ethos - Many ugly things happen in the world. We take some of the most uncomfortable parts of our world and bring them to you in a way that not only entices you to come closer it captures your sense of whats possible right there and then. There is everything extreme about this sort of craftivism.

The Zulu Taxi will be dripping with Skulls and VooDoo magic. This Classic London Taxi is the brainchild of Renegade potter and extreme craftivist Carrie Reichardt. Her friendship with Kenny Zulu Whitmore is the beginning of this story. It’s one of love, art and activism. Its crafted from their seriously cool revolutionary spirits.

Earlier this year Carrie spent 2 months in Philadelphia at the Clay Studios as the resident artist. This was a prestigious placement and after getting over the huge honour. She got down to thinking about what would be the best use of her time. This is where the Zulu Taxi idea came into focus as an actual possibility. For the past 6 years it was always a mater of when and how. But the next mosaicked car (if it could ever happen again!) was going to be a Zulu car. A Zulu Liberation Taxi in fact!

The engine has now started and this vehicle is going to turn a silenced man into a beacon for truth and change. Kenny Zulu Whitmore is no ordinary inmate. Political and long time Black Panther, still fighting for justice. His incarceration is one of nearly 40 years of silencing. His extreem treatment by the US penal system is cruel and unusual. But a “Zulu Shade Never Fades” – Zulu tag line The Taxi is to serve as a beacon. A bejewelled ball of Power in the face of injustice. Its a messenger of Zulu's story and of his resistance in the face of a system which refuses to recognise his innocence.
A seductive VooDoo Machine leading the way through the treacherous pit falls of morality and solidarity. It is now with us! After hurtling out of that dark juju and having been tucked in the recesses of The Treatment Rooms Collective's mind.

I have helped only a couple of times now with some mosaic spirals for the taxi and a little bit of assistant the people with real talents for mosaic and art! A small amount of labour, but one of love and many, many people have come together to work on different aspects of this project, it was revealed at Standon calling festival this weekend. It drove through London and up to a field where everyone could see it in all of it's glory and meet the people who created it. It was amazing and everyone loved it.

Anyway, here are some photos of things I helped with at the workshop, and in the next day or two, I will post the Standon calling photos!

Spirals which you'll see all over the taxi, you make them back to front and stick them with PVA to brown paper, then transfer them on. This was the first thing I learnt to do!
See the spirals now?



Below, mixing glue! The strong stuff, can't have tiles falling off whilst driving!











You have to fill the back of the skulls before placing them on the car.

David making his first spiral above. He did ok for someone who thought he couldn't!













I've had a ovely time in the last few weeks helping out. So Thank you to Carrie, Sian and the rest of the guys down at treatement rooms, who have welcomed me and taight e how to do things. I've had such a wonderful time! 

I'll get the standon blog up in the next few days. 

XXX


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