Decontextualise to Decolonise: Ulu Knife

Joan John from the Interior Architecture course at the University of Brighton writes about an Ulu Knife as part of the Decontextualise to Decolonise project.

Ulu Knife: Case Number 26

The Butcher’s Ulu: A Critique on the Commercialisation of Culture

This butcher’s is more of an exhibition space than a regular shop. It is shaped around the ulu’s historical origin—a tool used by women for domestic tasks. I’ve flipped that context here. I have explored implied masculinity and how culture is often turned into something to be sold for profit.

The space is designed around the ulu, which have been hung from chains and are used to cut the meat hanging from the racks. The shop has two main sections. A raised workspace where the butchers prepare and cut the meat, and the front area where customers watch. The whole scene is meant to feel eerie. This is communicated through the towering scaffolding, minimal lighting and scratchy figures throughout.

There is a commercial aspect to this project. It is a critique of how different cultures often have their traditions taken, repackaged, and sold without credit. In this case, the ulu has been plucked out in the same manner. It has been mass-produced and casually sold. Now, anyone could stumble across it in a ‘random shop around the corner.’