ZIMMERS OF SOUTHALL - HARK1KARAN

Festival Exhibition

Location: Bay View Shopping Centre

Open: 7th October - 31st October // 10AM-4PM (M0N-SAT)

Life is becoming more digital and automatic, which makes many things easier. But it can also over complicate our decisions while glossing over the human fun of analog experience.

Cars epitomise this shift. Driving now compared to a generation ago is more smooth and automatic, the grip of the road responsive. But for many enthusiasts, too much electronic gadgetry distracts from the fundamentals. For decades, an appreciation for classic car models has thus strengthened across the globe.

Every neighbourhood has its own subtle subculture.

In February 2022, BMW cars were seen in a cool, new light as the Zimmers of Southall documentary was released to the world. Directed by community photographer Hark1karan and produced by filmmaker Alex Donaldson. It provides an intimate snapshot of Southall’s proud Punjabi community via the lens of its car collectors, tapping into a rich local history of migration, intergenerational identity and British music culture.

“We wanted to show what normal lads, especially Asian lads, get up to; to take away from certain stereotypes and give nuance to their lives,” says Hark1karan.

“They’re skilled, they have a passion, and the car is a safe space for them to express themselves, along with the music. One of the reasons that I documented this is it just shows people from different cultures that, yes, their culture may be different from yours, but they are still doing something that you’re doing. So, another person from another culture can relate to this.”

The film has since been screened at the Barbican, V&A and Flatpack Film Festival in Birmingham. It was included in the British Pavilion entry at the prestigious Venice Biennale 2023, as part of a film called Dancing Before the Moon.

“It’s having a bigger impact than I fully understand,” reflects Hark1karan. “People say to me, We’re not into cars, but we really enjoyed the film. I’ve come to realise that it’s not really about the cars, but the feeling they give people.”

A few months after its release, however, Hark1Kkaran realised that the story was still incomplete. “When you’re out in Southall, you notice aunties driving BMWs, young women driving them,” he says. So he did a callout for women drivers on social media who drive BMW cars. The response was overwhelming. He and Donaldson soon started planning Zimmers of Southall 2.

In the first Zimmers, male characters focus on their love of engineering and the grip of the road. But while celebrating the same ethos of diasporic inheritance, Zimmers 2 shines a new light on the heightened vitality of themes like independence and safety for women drivers, for whom cars act as a different, equally important type of safe space.

Excerpts taken from words by Ciaran Thapar for GQ Magazine.

All festival exhibitions are FREE to visit.

www.hark1karan.com