Review of exhibition at The Gallery, Southfields, London, UK

Written by James Brewer, November 2012

8th February 2013

h24 Fabrika in association with Gruppo Tracce

The work of Daphne Cazalet and the life of Daphne Cazalet are one and the same thing. Both are governed by a history of mixed blood and of the benefits and losses of migration.

Born in India, Daphne moved with her family to England when she was seven years old. She grew up among people, white and respectable, who, though they saw themseves as the owners of her country, had no understanding of that place or of the reality of living there.

Like many migrant women, Daphne learnt to hide herself, partly because of the shame of being different and partly in order not to reveal her strength before she was ready. It was only when, of her own impulse, Daphne moved to Australia where she met other migrant women, worked with them and learned from their stories, that Daphne found the way, through visual art, to express the suffering and the triumph of a life in exile.

Now Daphne lives here in Salento, in the town of Castrignano Dei Greci. She brings with her all that experience of life and all her ability as painter and as actress. She says that she admires the culture, the history, the beautiful invironment and above all the people of Salento and here she feels, perhaps for the first time, finally at home.