Annis Harrison
Memory
of Joy
Part 2
AN EXHIBITION AND SOUNDSCAPE
BY ANNIS HARRISON
The Exhibition
Memory of Joy Part 2 is an exhibition by Annis Harrison which combines painting, sound and moving image to create a multi-sensory experience of joy and remembrance, featuring a self-contained, sound system–inspired installation that blended interviews, sound effects and bass-heavy rhythms to create an immersive experience.
The inaugural show was at Sugar Island Gallery, London E15 in November 2025.
Here's a 1-minute film about the exhibition.
The Sample
And here's a 45-second excerpt from the soundscape - best enjoyed with headphones....
Scroll down for the full soundscape
"The sound is not just music, it’s resistance. The mango is not just fruit, it’s memory. The heritage is not just history, it’s joy. They’re all connected."
Annis Harrison interviewed by journalist Azieb Poole
The visual concept
The project began as a simple idea: Lets celebrate a collective joy from our past, part of a narrative that can get lost - the first, glorious, luscious taste of Caribbean fruit, for Afro Caribbean children in the drab, monochrome 1970s.
The bursts of colour and shapes in this series of paintings celebrate that moment of abandon, where body and food bond. The curved, plump, and glistening forms of the paintings are as much mouths, teeth and lips as they are fleshy pieces of fruit.
A quick interview with Annis about developing the idea from these beginnings.
Sound systems
After securing Arts Council funding, Annis travelled around London to record the interviews that provided the content for the soundscape, capturing the conversations, the tales, the lyricism and the laughter of those Seventies children
Taking her inspiration from classic dub sound systems, Annis then worked with musicians, sound designers and producers, editing the interviews together with music and sound effects to create an immersive, sound-system experience, and building an enclosed sitting room-like environment within the gallery space.
"Sound System culture is another form of joy as resistance. As soon as I feel that bass, it’s like a meditation. I can feel it physically moving through my body, the sense of release and escaping everyday life."
In this clip, Annis talks about the influence of sound system culture.
Call for collaborations
Annis is now looking to take the exhibition and installation around the UK,
reproducing the process in different localised environments.
If you're a curator, cultural organisation or just an interested party, then please do click here.
The Soundscape
Here's the soundscape in it's full 11 minutes. Please wear headphones.to enjoy fully
Education
Annis delivered workshops over two days to school pupils.
They had one session in the gallery, experiencing the installation and soundscape, and exploring the idea of 'heritage'.
They then explored their own heritage by researching with parents, grandparents and carers.
In a second workshop, students recreated a fruit that they had learned about from their families.
"To hear little children talk so passionately about their experience and be so enthusiastic about art after meeting you is wonderful"
"You definitely inspired my little girl."
