Red Dancers springs from the vibrancy and movement of both contemporary and historical Afro-Caribbean cultures. This itself is influenced in large part by the fact that in my twenties I was involved in a lot of dance projects using African dances and capoeira as a starting point. Fundamentally when I think of Afro-Caribbean ways of life, my first thought it always to the beauty of the movements and the community spirit engendered as a dance. The red colour in this piece was chosen to represent the blood which many people find important to express - it is seen in the flags of many African nations and political movements. It also, ultimately, expresses the notion of the blood of our ancestors.

The major inspirations for the motifs in this piece come from a variety of Saharan and sub-Saharan rock art designs - one in particular from Niger is estimated to be over 5000 years old and depicts individual and recognisable faces of dancers in some unknown ritual. In addition I have added a petroglyph thought to depict an initiate into a men's cult from Botswana. Some of the dancers carry musical instruments - seen in the design is a lyre or harp, two kinds of trumpet and a drum.

This piece explores the roots of movement, and ultimately the roots of mankind, and how such roots are explored and expressed in all human cultures with vibrancy and eagerness. Of all the banners, the fluid sense of energy and life I get from this piece makes it my favourite.