Wolverhampton art exhibition revives the VHS era

An art exhibition featuring stories about Wolverhampton and the migrant communities in it is going on the road.

Much of the interior of the exhibition is based on Dawinder's childhood living room

Jambo Cinema is an immersive art installation and film by Wolverhampton artist Dawinder Bansal, who was inspired to create the project from her own experiences growing up in her parents corner shop, Bansal Electrical, on Harrow Street in Wolverhampton, which sold electrical supplies and also rented VHS video films to the newly arrived and established Indian and Pakistani migrant communities in Whitmore Reans.

Attendees are invited to explore the Indian-Kenyan living room, complete with family photographs, memorabilia and original Bollywood VHS films, with Dawinder welcoming everyone as guests.

The exhibition will be a part of the Barbican's Leytonstone Loves Film Festival at Leytonstone in London, having started as a personal project in Wolverhampton in 2016.

There are original touches around each part of the exhibition

Dawinder is exploring the story of South Asian communities and the importance of Bollywood VHS shops in the UK.

She retained most of the original stock when the shop closed in 1989 and, after 30 years, is bringing the past back to life through this installation, reflecting the stories and lives of so many South Asian families from across the UK.

She said: “I’m so delighted and honoured to present Jambo Cinema at Leytonstone Loves Film festival this year.

"Jambo Cinema began in 2016 as a passion project, mainly as a tribute to my late father. After my father died, our shop closed down but we retained majority of the original VHS tapes, artwork, fixtures and fittings.

The exhibition harks back to an era of VHS tapes and video stores

"In 2015, I explored the old shop stock and realised it was an important part of South Asian social history.

"Jambo Cinema is a working class story, about me, the humble beginnings of my family moving from Kenya to the UK and our love for film. While it is a very personal story, people from all walks of life can resonate with the story or be curious about British Asian lives in the 1980s”.

The exhibition will be on display at Leytonstone Library, Church Lane, Leytonstone on Saturday, September 28 and Sunday, September 29, running from 11am to 6pm.