H.A.P.P.Y. I is a short video shot over a number of Sunday mornings at Speaker's Corner in Hyde Park during August/September 2001. Speaker's Corner is historically associated with freedom of speech and debate and is now largely given over to religious speakers. Rona Lee says of the footage - "In the week before my last visit to Speaker's Corner, September 11th happened and threw an entirely different perspective on the material I had collected. I have edited the video in a way that resists conveying any particular message and allows for reflection on the desire and need to have a 'say'".

H.A.P.P.Y. II is a sound recording of the Sunday School song 'I Am Happy Loved and Saved' incorporating other five letter adjectives suggested through email correspondance: I am BLACK, I am HAIRY, I am WHITE, I am DIRTY etc etc.

These interlinked works were originally presented in an empty church in Dilston Grove, London as part of the Span 2 Festival in 2001. In the Taxi Gallery they suggested a conversation between taxi driver and passenger that has unexpectedly strayed onto the subject of philosophical, political or religious belief, as they sometimes do ....

comments book extracts:

The work functions really well in the Taxi - the relationship to verbose Taxi drivers (especially in Liverpool where I've lived for a lot of years) - is great. I also get that same feeling of wanting to escape but feeling annoyed while someone hectors/lectures me.

Taxi Gallery lends itself perfectly to the work - it seems it's only men who have hot air to spare at Speaker's Corner! Perhaps women are out there solving the conflicts they are so angry about? - a great idea please keep it going.

I have just viewed your 'visual display' of Speaker's Corner. Strangely enough, I have spent many Sunday mornings and afternoons there over the last 4 or 5 years. I indeed know several of the speakers on your video. Basically what they are saying is IRRELEVANT !!!

note:

I had seen the original versions of H.A.P.P.Y. I & II in Dilston Church and approached Rona with the idea of installing the work as the third Taxi Gallery show as I felt they could also work well within the context of a London Taxi Cab - this was in part a practical solution to the problem of activating the potential of Taxi Gallery whilst giving artists time to develop their ideas for the gallery. I continue to be interested in presenting works that are reworked/re-versioned for the Taxi Gallery context.