Art film Black Corporeal – Breathing by Numbers highlights impact of air pollution

Next month, Brixton House will premiere Black Corporeal – Breathing by Numbers, by artist and South London poet Julianknxx.

The powerful and visually stunning art film is an artistic response which highlights the disproportionate impact of air pollution in inner city London.

Anchored by the voice of grassroots air pollution campaigner Rosamund Adoo-Kissi-Debrah, the film traces her ground-breaking journey to having air pollution officially listed as a cause of death of her nine-year-old daughter Ella, the first person in the world to have this.

Ella Roberta was born and lived in Lewisham for the duration of her short life.

She was nine years old when she died suddenly on February 15, 2013, of a fatal asthma attack.

In 2020, after a second inquest into her death, the coroner concluded that her asthma had started due to the air pollution on the South Circular.

Julianknxx’s film layers Adoo Kissi Debrah’s moving account with poetry, essay, documentary and music to create a potent social justice message to draw attention not only to her campaign but to the continuing stark realities of environmental poverty.

The special screenings will take place in the main theatre space at Brixton House from October 5-7.

They will be shown each night alongside live performances in which Julianknxx and guests expose the multiple realities of black life in London, and their relationships with the built environment that holds them.

Julianknxx said: “This film explores the oppressive circumstances placed on black folks and the working-class, who are often forced to live in congested and often highly polluted pockets of our city.

“However, rather than lament the weathering conditions and social pressures of black experiences, I hope audiences will see that this film honours a culture of resilience and perseverance among those who have captured the cosmic and made a difference.”

Breathing by Numbers was executive produced by Debo Amon alongside producer Tobi Kyeremateng who said: “Julian’s work is one that pushes the boundaries of artistic forms to allow different worlds of work to speak to one another.

“Breathing By Numbers is a piece of work I feel truly privileged to have been a part of, and one that speaks directly to the diasporic experiences of black communities globally.”

Pictured: Still from the film Picture: Pablo Rojo