Halina Edwards

Kite Flying in the Caribbean (2021–present)

Kite Flying in the Caribbean is an ongoing research project that looks into the active tradition of kite flying, an annual tradition celebrated at Easter across the region. The project began as an investigation into Caribbean traditions, often lost due to changes like migration. The project reflects an urgency to stay connected and to understand the many islands and diverse ethnic groups that make up the Caribbean through craft.

In relation to the theme, as the project matured, it has become a deeper study into how the traditional materials used to build kites, particularly bamboo, carry histories tied to labour and contested cultural contexts of resistance. Bamboo, a key material in kite-making and easily sourced in the Caribbean, has become central to my work.

2024, Kite Flying in the Caribbean, Victoria and Albert Museum, London, UK
 

In dialogue with Jacqui Ramrayka’s practice, Halina Edwards presented her ongoing research on kite flying in the Caribbean at the V&A for their event Friday Late: Inviting Alchemy.

Acting as an open studio, she showcased the kites she had created as part of this study, performed a live installation where she formed the shape of an eight-point kite, and displayed her research on the history of kite flying, various kite styles, and her documentation of the St. Mary Kite & Food Festival in Jamaica, which she visited in 2022.

With their shared Caribbean heritage—Jamaica, Trinidad, and Guyana—Jacqui had proposed an event centred around Caribbean kite flying. Edwards’ research into Caribbean kite flying had begun in 2021 as a way to preserve traditions that are often lost due to changes like migration, combined with a deep longing to feel connected and to understand the many islands that make up the Caribbean through craft.

A sequence of me stringing an eight-point kite. Strung using pieces of nylon knotted together, with the frame made from bamboo and string.

2024

Kite Making Workshop at Museum of the Home, London (2023)

In February 2023, I participated in a workshop that explored heritage and memory between Caribbean and African elders, descendants born or living in Britain, and their wider communities through various forms of audio-visual documentation, objects, oral histories, music, home publishing practices, and alternative approaches to making home in different environments.

Looking into craft practices in the Caribbean, I shared my ongoing research on the custom of kite flying, an active tradition and pastime in the Caribbean, popular around Easter. It is said it’s celebrated on and around Easter, aligning with the ascension of Christ. I shared its origins, the different types of kites, such as the Guyanese ‘Caddy Ole Punch’. The kite frames were built by me, where I demonstrated how to string the kite into a 6-point star shape, and the participants worked together to design their own.

Workshop speakers who provided insight into archival methods about home included Kaitlene Koranteng, Archivist at Iniva / Stuart Hall Library, Michael La Rose, Dr Michael McMillan, Véronique Belinga and Christxpher Oliver.