Rhi: Okay, so. Who are you?

Senanu: I’m Senanu Tordzro, from Ghana, West Africa. I moved here when I was six, and I’ve been here ever since. I just turned 21! I’m an artist, reader, creator… All-round creative person, I think.

Rhi: Can you tell us about your creative practice? 

Senanu: I’m currently in my fourth year of computer arts at Abertay University.
I came into the course wanting to do animation, mostly, and as the years went on I came to learn I was very inspired by illustration. I really wanted to tell stories - so in the end, I came in looking to animate, and I’m leaving as more of a storyteller and illustrator. 

Senanu: I have two projects I’m currently working on - one which is personal, and one which is academic, which I aim to continue working on after I graduate. The idea is that I wanted to create something which reassured people like me - who moved from their home to somewhere completely different. People who have had to adapt and change themselves in order for people to like, or even love them. It’s the story of a West African god who has had her people taken from their homeland through slavery and colonialism. Because her people are now scattered around the world, she also flits around - trying to help them find themselves again. She’s there to comfort them, and assure them that it’s okay to be themselves, and find their roots. To remind them that even if they haven’t been home in generations, their ancestors came from this land - it’s still part of them. To remind them that they don’t need to fit into this narrative that others have created for them. That’s the idea I wanted to convey…

Rhi: Yeah!

Senanu: Because I went through this myself, you know? Like… I guess I’m still finding myself. I’m finding that right now, I’m not just West African, and I’m not just Scottish - I’m a mix of both. And that’s okay. 

Rhi: I think it’s something many artists of colour find trouble with; establishing a sense of self and a sense of home in a country which is increasingly hostile. The huge push back to amplify artists’ voices in the wake of the BLM movement is going a long way, but there is that… initial, internal work to make yourself comfortable.

Senanu: Yeah… Yeah. Honestly. It’s such a difficult thing to work through. Ever since I came to Scotland, I’ve been bullied, I’ve been called slurs… as soon as I came here, fresh off the plane, I was bullied for my accent… I worked so hard to erase any part of me which came from Africa. My accent, my clothes, my behaviour… I did anything I could to be accepted by my peers and fit in. But as I grew up, I realised that the glaring truth of the matter was that no matter what I did, I would never fit in with them - because of the colour of my skin. This bright, glowing beacon of mine - it’s a signal of where I’m from, so I might as well embrace it! But that took a lot of work. And it took a long time, until I was around thirteen, fourteen years of age. I realized I’d be judged and ostracized, and people would look at me and find something to be jealous of no matter what. So I’m just going to embrace it!

Rhi: Hell yeah.

Senanu: So since then, I’ve worked so hard to undo all that damage. I reconnected with my roots, my ancestry, my heritage… I relearned who I was before I came to Scotland, discovered who I am now, and decided who I wanted to be in the future. Someone confident in my identity - my work, accent… I’m still working on that one! It’s a work in progress, but I’m so much closer to who I want to be. And I realized there are many people like me. Especially coming to university and seeing the huge variation in culture, ethnicity, creed… I’ve met people brought up entirely in their own culture, who are so comfortable with it… It stuck out to me that many people of colour don’t have that experience. So I wanted my story to tell others like me that it’s okay. To be a mix of cultures, and races, and to not be what’s expected - by your homeland or by where you live. It makes you interesting, and beautiful, and unique. I needed to hear that when I was younger. So that’s what I want to say.

Rhi: I suppose that’s another interesting facet of all this… The pandemic has been…

Senanu: HAH! Yeah. It’s been grim.

Rhi: It’s been making it difficult to find any ease of creation… But I think this project has helped me with that. In the aftermath of BLM, I felt very helpless. I couldn’t go out and demonstrate, or anything… And I think it’s quite similar for a lot of minorities. But using my work as a way to connect with my heritage has been… surprisingly healing. And I don’t think it would have happened this way in a different context.

Senanu: I was on twitter during the peak of the movement this summer, and… You know, after a few weeks, I couldn’t take it anymore. I stepped back from the platform, I’ve seen too much of it, and there’s nothing I can do. You know? I think that was another push in my desire to further develop the god. So that I have an outlet for all these frustrations, and so that I can… help to support others. We’re in an age where everything is brand new, and things don’t tend to stay the same for more than a few years. So… I wanted to make a sort of constant. To draw from the self, you know? You’re the person you’ll be with for your whole life.

Rhi: I like that. Building the stability of a home within the self. The whole project is about the importance of having a place to return to in your creative practice. With special reference to Dundee, yes - but… The importance of building that stability within yourself is definitely not to be understated. 

Senanu: When I was younger, I sort of realized that… No matter where I went, or where I go, because I was removed from my home, I… never really feel comfortable? Maybe if I return to Ghana, I will feel that comfort again, but… right now, since I can’t go home, I should create my own home. And I live alone, and with the pandemic - I couldn’t find comfort in my friends. So I’ve really been focusing on constructing that safety and comfort within myself. My life’s philosophy is that… everything which happens to you, which you experience, adds to who you are. I think if people were more… aware of how they affect others… well you know, we wouldn’t be in this situation right now.

Rhi: Yeah.

Senanu: So… Starting with myself, I decided to be more aware of… my own identity, and how I affect people. And the energies I put out into the world. And through that… try and make my life, and then the wider world… a little bit of a better place. So… You know, a one-man movement starting with myself!

Rhi: Yeah!

Senanu: ever since I was young, people have said I’m a very happy person, I’m very positive… So I thought, if that’s a strength people see in me, then I’ll make it even stronger. I want people to think of Senanu and think, ‘Oh man, she’s so nice, she’s so happy, and every time I’m around her I feel happy!’ That’s the kind of aura I want around me, so…

Rhi: I think you achieve it very well!

Senanu: Heheh… Everything can be better if you smile through it. But.. you also need to be able to cry. I suppose I just want to be a home… for myself and for others.

Rhi: So… Here’s an interesting question. Home is within yourself, but… Does Dundee feel like your home after the time you’ve spent here?

Senanu: Hmm… Honestly? Yes! But I think it’s… the people who have been around me. When I came from Glasgow, I came straight out of highschool… I was very bookish and I played a lot of video games, and I was a bit of a homebody… But I came to university and… found my people. I found myself making roots and developing deep, enriching relationships. So maybe when they move on, it won’t feel so much like home anymore. But I like how small Dundee is. I like how personal it feels. I like how you can walk five minutes in any direction and be on a whole different side of the city. And even though it’s small, it feels big - there’s always something new going on. There’s art and culture everywhere. 

[In the background, a man yells for his kids to ‘come here and behave’. We both chortle.]

Senanu: I think… My home in Glasgow. Because that’s where my family is. But I’d say that, right now, my… personal, and definitely social home, is here in Dundee. I've made friends here who I realize will be by my side for… most of my life. And I guess that’s it. I think… the way that I am, I don’t find places to be home so much as I do people. 

Senanu: For finishing remarks… It’s okay to be yourself. I found it easy to change and develop myself - but it can be hard for others. So it’s okay to be how you are now. And it’s okay to be uncomfortable in your skin, just as it is to be comfortable already! And I think to find that comfort within yourself, you have to…

[She sighs thoughtfully.]

Senanu: Find what makes you happy. And find who makes you happy. And if you haven’t yet… Pick someone. Get to know them better. Ask them questions… How they take their tea, or eat their biscuits… how do they wear their socks… Little things. To get to know them, and yourself. And that… It’s okay, if you feel you have no home. Just… reach out. And.. Oh, I don’t know!

[We laugh together.]

Rhi, grinning, a little tiredly: Bangin’! 

[The video ends.]