Ragga Crouching
Photograph
1993 (photographed)
1993 (photographed)
| Artist/Maker | |
| Place of origin |
Jennie Baptiste’s photographs explore fashion and style as expressions of black British identity, often with a focus on music culture. She was born in Northwest London in 1971, after her parents moved to the city from St. Lucia in the 1960s.
Ragga music originated in Jamaica in the 1980s, building on dancehall and reggae styles by using electronic music and sampling linked to both hip hop and dance music trends. The music style became popular in Britain during the 1990s when it was increasingly fused with hip hop. The influence of Ragga is credited with popularising dancehall music with which it shares many features, including styles of dancing and female dress. Female ragga dancers typically wear elaborate, colourful costumes, which are often hand-embellished.
The V&A acquired four photographs by Jennie Baptiste as part of the Staying Power project. Staying Power is a five year partnership between the V&A and Black Cultural Archives. The project aims to explore black British experience from the 1950s to the 1990s through photographs acquired by the V&A and oral histories conducted by Black Cultural Archives.
Ragga music originated in Jamaica in the 1980s, building on dancehall and reggae styles by using electronic music and sampling linked to both hip hop and dance music trends. The music style became popular in Britain during the 1990s when it was increasingly fused with hip hop. The influence of Ragga is credited with popularising dancehall music with which it shares many features, including styles of dancing and female dress. Female ragga dancers typically wear elaborate, colourful costumes, which are often hand-embellished.
The V&A acquired four photographs by Jennie Baptiste as part of the Staying Power project. Staying Power is a five year partnership between the V&A and Black Cultural Archives. The project aims to explore black British experience from the 1950s to the 1990s through photographs acquired by the V&A and oral histories conducted by Black Cultural Archives.
Object details
| Categories | |
| Object type | |
| Title | Ragga Crouching (assigned by artist) |
| Materials and techniques | C-type print |
| Brief description | Photograph by Jennie Baptiste, 'Ragga Crouching', C-type print, 1993 |
| Physical description | A colour photograph of a young black woman dancing against a dark blue background. She is in a crouched position seen sideways on with her head titled, as she moves her hands in front of her. She wears shorts and a crop top both of which are made of purple velvet with tassle fringing. She has darker purple tights on underneath the shorts with a band of gold sequins around the leg in full view. She wears a variety of jewellery, including large gold rings on every finger of her left hand. She also has a gold dollar sign earring mirroring the dollar sign shaved onto the side of her head. The long exposure of the photograph means that a blur is created mimicking her movements. |
| Dimensions |
|
| Styles | |
| Gallery label |
|
| Credit line | Supported by the National Lottery Heritage Fund. |
| Object history | The V&A acquired this photograph as part of the Staying Power project. Staying Power is a five year partnership between the V&A and Black Cultural Archives. The project aims to explore black British experience from the 1950s to the 1990s through photographs acquired by the V&A and oral histories conducted by Black Cultural Archives. |
| Production | First edition print |
| Subjects depicted | |
| Summary | Jennie Baptiste’s photographs explore fashion and style as expressions of black British identity, often with a focus on music culture. She was born in Northwest London in 1971, after her parents moved to the city from St. Lucia in the 1960s. Ragga music originated in Jamaica in the 1980s, building on dancehall and reggae styles by using electronic music and sampling linked to both hip hop and dance music trends. The music style became popular in Britain during the 1990s when it was increasingly fused with hip hop. The influence of Ragga is credited with popularising dancehall music with which it shares many features, including styles of dancing and female dress. Female ragga dancers typically wear elaborate, colourful costumes, which are often hand-embellished. The V&A acquired four photographs by Jennie Baptiste as part of the Staying Power project. Staying Power is a five year partnership between the V&A and Black Cultural Archives. The project aims to explore black British experience from the 1950s to the 1990s through photographs acquired by the V&A and oral histories conducted by Black Cultural Archives. |
| Associated objects |
|
| Collection | |
| Accession number | E.973-2010 |
About this object record
Explore the Collections contains over a million catalogue records, and over half a million images. It is a working database that includes information compiled over the life of the museum. Some of our records may contain offensive and discriminatory language, or reflect outdated ideas, practice and analysis. We are committed to addressing these issues, and to review and update our records accordingly.
You can write to us to suggest improvements to the record.
Suggest feedback
You can write to us to suggest improvements to the record.
Suggest feedback
| Record created | February 1, 2011 |
| Record URL |
Download as: JSONIIIF Manifest
