New CORNWALLIS CLOTH exhibition poster
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Project:
CORNWALLIS CLOTH is a film set in the aftermath of the 1942 U-Boat attacks inspired by oral testimony and the untold stories of British Caribbean lives during the Second World War.
Role:
Created and produced by Sweet Patootee Arts as part of the IWM 14-18 NOW Legacy Fund, a national partnership programme of over 20 artist commissions inspired by the heritage of conflict and led by Imperial War Museums.
CORNWALLIS CLOTH is inspired by oral histories and untold stories of Black Caribbean lives during the Second World War. The film delves into themes of loyalty, freedom, and the birth of post-colonial identity, with dramatic intensity and satirical humour
Set in a moonlit tropical garden in Barbados in 1942, CORNWALLIS CLOTH is a film which brings together 3D sound design, performance and archive montage to create a captivating and poetic Caribbean comedy melodrama vignette.
The film centres around Mrs Bonita Skeete (aka Bonny), a Black woman whose story operates as a metaphor for British Caribbean civil rights during the period of the Second World War. Through sparky banter with stirred up patriots, rebels, black marketeers, and in-betweens, the film sheds light on the 1942 U-boat attack on the SS Cornwallis, as well as war leaders, the fight for freedom, rationing, and the fate that befalls those found with looted Cornwallis cloth.
Starring Jennifer Marvaree-Robinson as Bonny, supported by community participants’ off-screen voices. Set in Barbados, and brought to life through evocative sound design, projection design and archival montage, CORNWALLIS CLOTH blends comedy, melodrama, calypso, and colonial history into a poetic and thought-provoking experience.
CORNWALLIS CLOTH film installation premiers at the Old Royal Naval College 11 October 2025, running until late 2026. Presented alongside an exhibition exploring the wider themes of the film.
Open Daily | 10am-5pm – Visitors Centre, Old Royal Naval College, Greenwich, London, SE10 9NN
CORNWALLIS CLOTH
An IWM 14-18 NOW Legacy Fund commission in partnership with Sweet Patootee Arts.
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