Skip navigation

Main menu

  • What's on
  • Art & Artists
    • The Collection
      Artists
      Artworks
      Art by theme
      Media
      Videos
      Podcasts
      Short articles
      Learning
      Schools
      Art Terms
      Tate Research
      Art Making
      Create like an artist
      Kids art activities
      Tate Draw game
  • Visit
  • Shop
Become a Member
  • DISCOVER ART
  • ARTISTS A-Z
  • ARTWORK SEARCH
  • ART BY THEME
  • VIDEOS
  • ART TERMS
  • SCHOOLS
  • TATE KIDS
  • RESEARCH
  • Tate Britain
    Tate Britain Free admission
  • Tate Modern
    Tate Modern Free admission
  • Tate Liverpool + RIBA North
    Tate Liverpool + RIBA North Free admission
  • Tate St Ives
    Tate St Ives Ticket or membership card required
  • FAMILIES
  • ACCESSIBILITY
  • SCHOOLS
  • PRIVATE TOURS
Tate Logo
Become a Member
This is a past display. Go to current displays

Hetain Patel Don’t Look at the Finger 2017. Video, high definition, projection, colour and sound (stereo), 16min, 9sec.

Hetain Patel: Don't Look at the Finger

Hetain Patel’s work reflects on how cultural identity is communicated through performance and popular culture

Don’t Look at the Finger 2017, is a film following the rituals of a West-African wedding ceremony in a church. The title references a quote by Bruce Lee from the 1973 Kung-Fu film Enter the Dragon.

For Patel, who grew up in multicultural Britain, Hollywood films were a source of escapism and a subject of shared interest with peers. This video combines familiar cinematic tropes with cross-cultural references. Actors of West African heritage perform East Asian martial arts, wearing costumes inspired by Japan and Mongolian dress that are made using Dutch wax fabric, commonly worn by West African communities at times of celebration.

This work has been chosen in response to themes, such as dance, in the Barbara Hepworth: Art & Life exhibition.

Read more

Tate St Ives
Level 3

Getting Here

28 January – 1 May 2023

Gallery admission required

Entry to both the display and the gallery is free for Tate Members, Locals' Pass holders and under 18s.

Book entry

Become a member
Artwork
Close

Join in

  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • YouTube
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
Sign up to emails

Sign up to emails

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Tate’s privacy policy

About

  • About us
  • Our collection
  • Terms and copyright
  • Governance
  • Picture library
  • ARTIST ROOMS
  • Tate Kids

Support

  • Tate Collective
  • Members
  • Patrons
  • Donate
  • Corporate
  • My account
  • Press
  • Jobs
  • Accessibility
  • Privacy
  • Cookies
  • Contact
© The Board of Trustees of the Tate Gallery, 2025
All rights reserved