Artist Statement

‘Mercurial States’ creates an autonomous zone within Liverpool, a zone for celebrating the diverse and vigorous cultures of the black experience in contemporary Britain. Functioning on various levels, ‘Mercurial States’ comprises creative internet workshops, an artist’s residency and culminates in a Roundtable event.

Working with a group of young Somali men and a group of Afro-Caribbean teenagers, multimedia artist Kooj Chuhan helped the groups to produce the websites:   www.mercurialstates.com/somalicentre and www.mercurialstates.com/soulaise

The Artist’s Residency, (in)Visible’ involved a collaboration between Liverpool Black Sisters, artist Susan Lewis and website designer Steve Hellens to produce a website: www.mercurialstates.com/invisible

which explores the visible and invisible presence of black women in the city of Liverpool.

• Kooj Chuhan, Susan Lewis & Steve Hellens

Produced with the financial assistance of The PH Holt Charitable Trust, The Po Shing Woo Charitable Foundation and North West Arts Board. Commissioned by FACT. With support from Care-Frica, Liverpool Black Sisters, Liverpool Somali Centre, The Egg Cafe & Gallery and MITES.