The interior designer sparking conversations about slavery

In Bristol, where Patrice Watson – the winner of Business Design Centre's New Designer of the Year – went to university, the conversation around how the city wears the marks of the slave trade has been a hotly debated topic in the past few years.

The city’s growth was only possible because of the wealth accrued from the inhumanity of the Atlantic Trade, and the names of its most prominent slave traders – Edward Colston especially – are littered all over its streets, tower blocks and even music venues. Many feel that celebrating people that grew rich through violent racism is disgustingly outdated and want the names removed. Others feel that this is an erasure of history and that Bristol’s past – and the present day privilege it still ensures – needs to be looked squarely in the face.

Drawing on this conversation and her own Arawak Indian heritage, interior design graduate Patrice produced a proposal for The National Slavery Museum for her final project at the University of the West of England. One of many students whose work raised important social issues at this year’s New Designers, Patrice’s thoughtful concept wowed the judges and moved us deeply here at Zetteler. We love her thoughtful use of design elements to tell the often brutal histories of slavery, from using materials traded for human bodies to the museum’s criss-cross facade – a reference to the horrific scars inflicted on the museum’s protagonist Gordon. 

Incredibly modest about her success and overwhelmed that a project so close to her heart would be recognised by the judges, Patrice sat down with us at Zetteler to tell us a little bit more about the motivation behind The National Slavery Museum.

Can you tell us a little bit about your concept?

My project is a proposal for The National Slavery Museum intended for Bristol harbourside. Bristol is infamous for its slavery. We have a few merchant adventurers that were really well known around Bristol, who have buildings named after them. I wanted to create something that is a memorial so people can understand what took place in Bristol. 

The concept was based around a man named Gordon who was a slave in America. I used him and his story as a symbol of slavery and the movement towards the American Civil War. I carried his image through my design as it was something I couldn’t let go of. 

On the ground floor, the museum covers slave voyages and the mistreatment and harsh brutalities of people being taken away from their motherland. The second floor addresses slavery in Bristol and how we have benefitted from it – looking at slavery from another perspective and seeing the riches it brought into our country. The third floor is designed around watching videos – something more intimate. To create a space and an atmosphere, I have cast shadows on the ceiling. 

How do the materials you’ve used for the interior relate to the subject matter?

They’re all traded materials. I used brass, as we traded brass to Africa. We melted it down and called it liquid gold. For us it was really cheap to make but for African people, it was considered a rich material because of the colour. I also looked into the idea of how glass beads were exploitatively traded in Africa as they were cheap for us to make. We would trade them in return for slaves as well as liquid gold, so I ran with that concept and incorporate these ideas into my design.

How does the project relate to your own background?

It is important to me as that is my heritage, I am Arawak Indian. Quite a few slaves were taken from Jamaica and the main people that were there at that time were Arawak Indians. This project was incredibly personal to me and I learnt so much about myself and my heritage during it. I wanted to carry that through and felt I had a duty to tell this story.

Do you feel represented within the design industry?

I wouldn’t say I don’t feel represented but I don’t feel there is really someone that represents me. I didn’t have anything to go off for my project. There wasn’t anything I could look at or refer to, so in that sense perhaps not –  I was trying to find a way to represent myself. 

Throughout the project it was a struggle as I had no one to stand there and tell me whether it was right or wrong apart from going to a museum curator. I felt very alone. People walked up to me at New Designers saying how amazing my project was but in a way I still don’t know if I achieved what I set out to do as I got lost in such a big project. There is no right or wrong to slavery, it’s just a story and I don’t know if I’ve told it well, if I could have changed things or added things, or focused on a different person. 

My design is solely focused on a slave and his experience. His was the experience of many people and I feel like there is a lot of people who could have related to him. He is a beacon really, I’ve just taken it on and infused it.

I feel empowered by design as a tool at my disposal to tell stories. I started telling the story without even realising I was telling a story. I found a concept and just ran with it and ended up discovering the story throughout my project. All my research parts really came together; I never thought it would be communicated in that way. 

Who are the creatives that have inspired you?

The folks behind the National Slavery Museum in Washington DC. I looked into African symbolism and the meaning behind empowerment. It was their work that inspired me to go down the direction I did, as I thought the shadows cast from the DC museum were so powerful.

How does it feel to have won the New Designer of the Year prize?

I came along for the experience. I don’t look at my work and think it’s amazing, I just look at it and think I tried hard. The fact that someone else can see my work and think those things is a really nice feeling.

Keep on top of the trends from the next generation of design stars; check out our other highlights from New Designers Week 2.