Friday Late: Bring Me To Heal
In this short film shot in the museum’s empty galleries, artist Amartey Golding turns to his Anglo-Scottish and Ghanaian ancestry, by way of a Rastafarian upbringing, to explore the universal aspects of human behaviour.
The film features Amartey’s long-time collaborator Darren Gayle and centres on an elemental being played by Amartey's brother and muse, Solomon Golding – the first Black British male to join the Royal Ballet Company. Solomon wears an ornate hand knotted garment made of human hair that has been braided with reference to Afro hair styles and the body art of the ancient Britons. ‘Bring Me To Heal’ draws in ancient histories, myth, storytelling and craft to examine our more destructive behaviours as well as the cultures which emerge from and perpetuate them.
Amartey Golding was born in London in 1988 to an Anglo-Scottish mother, Ghanaian father and Jamaican stepfather. His creative practice spans chainmail making, upholstery, film, photography, ballet and fashion. Golding’s work documents his introspective process of identifying and understanding the unifying primal themes of humanity and exploring the seemingly contradictory fabric of human existence.
CREDITS
Artist & Director: Amartey Golding
DOP: EaselFilm
Producer: Caroline Heron
Hair Artist: Kevin Fortune
1st AD: Albert Sharpe
Steadycam: Tom Walden
Camera 2: Drew Seymour
Camera Assist: Luke Everson
Focus Puller: Jerry Pradon
Lighting: Tom Bearne
Studio Manager: Lara Monro
Hair Assistant: Shannon Sheehan Davison
Production Assistant: Carolina Ongaro
Editor: Joe Carnaby
Colourist: Nevan Carey
Cast: Solomon Golding & Darren Gayle
Garment: Amartey Golding in collaboration with Kevin Fortune and Shepperton Wig Company
Commissioned by Jenna Mason for V&A Friday Late, in collaboration with Forma Arts and Media.