I was really privileged to create my globe for The World Reimagined in a shared space in Hackney. As I usually work alone in my studio, it was a wonderful experience to work alongside some of the other talented and inspiring artists and to learn about their practice. It was wonderful to watch others create their piece, not only to see how everyone approached the unique technical challenge of translating their design on to a spherical globe, but also to witness how much of themselves each artist put into their work. As a white person, with black family and mixed heritage children, engaging and reflecting on the history and legacy of the trans-Atlantic trade has been a very important part of my life. But I also acknowledge that I don’t carry this history in the same way as many of the other artists, it is not my lived, embodied experience. It proved to be an incredibly emotional experience for every single artist who chose to be a part of this extraordinary project.
The project is all about working together to reflect on our shared history, how it still impacts all of us today, and how we can collectively reimagine a better future. I wanted to use this blog as a platform to celebrate some of the other artists I worked with in the studio. Of course, there are over a hundred artists involved in this project, and each globe tells a unique story, so please do make sure to let me know your favourite in the comments!
KIALY
TIHNGANG
Toghu is an interpretation of Toghu cloth, the traditional textile of Cameroon. This is typically made of black velvet and richly embroidered in red, gold and white chain stitching. The artist chose to depict this embroidery in pink. Queerness will be literally embroidered into the fabric of Cameroon, forcing the viewer to grapple with the complexity of the artist’s community.
CURTIS
HOLDER
Echoes Talk Back is an evolution of a series of large multilayered coloured pencil portraits titled ‘The Talk’ in which the artist distils complex conversations with his sitters about their shared experiences as Black men in today’s society.
PHOEBE BOSWELL
Black Globe
Emancipation, and yet we continue to exist in this constructed world – rooted in, tethered to, and reliant upon conditions of un-freedom. So we imagine new worlds; we imagine freedom. We cultivate methodologies, safety mechanisms, loving ecosystems, refusals, creativity, joy, in an attempt to live freely in the wake. But what is this? Are we singing, or are we screaming?
Natasha mULUSWELA
Movers of the Past, Shakers of Tomorrow is inspired by conversations the artist had with community groups in the City of London. They spoke about people of colour who are working towards racial justice and shaking up the status quo in our society.
EMMANUEL
UNAJI
Parallel Empires, Ancestral Kingdoms presents the notion that mythological energy of African ancestral nobility appears to manifest in contemporary culture; avenues such as music, fashion, sport, academia, carnival and more.
SHANNON
BONO
Women Of Westminster presents the faces of Amy Ashwood Garvey and Mary Seacole, both women have plaques in the community but the artist felt it is important we represent them and put faces to their names. These women led lives dedicated to the service of others and have impacted history with their work.
KIMATHI
DONKOR
Helix (We Don’t Move In Circles)
For most Black people from Africa and the diaspora, a long strand of natural hair forms a helix – like the curved path of a spiral stairway. Yet this helix of hair also can evoke those profound structures which shape the patterns of life. At the microscopic scale is the double helix of DNA — two molecular strands entwined around one another like lovers. But, on a cosmic scale, the helix could also represent the world’s path through space. Whilst Earth’s orbit of the sun is a slight ellipse, the sun itself revolves around the galaxy, which means that the real path of our planet is not a flat ellipse at all.
YINKA
SHONIBARE CBE
The World Reimagined is a world map, reflecting historical trade routes and intercontinental power relations..
NICOLA CONSTANTINA
The Road To Freedom, Hidden In Plain Sight is inspired by the story of the Palenque people from San Basilio de Palenque, a small town in Colombia.
BIRUNGI
KAWOOYA
Peckham in Bloom
Breathe in, deeply.
Hold your breath and feel your heartbeat.
Exhale, ever so slowly.
Slow down and create some peace inside you.
LAKWENA
MACIVER
Staying Power
Colonialism comes in many different forms but is essentially about an encroachment on other people’s space. My work is about resisting these forces which infringe upon lands, bodies, minds and souls that are not theirs. A reference I often return to in my work is the struggle fought against the Transatlantic Trade in Enslaved Africans and Empire, and their legacies of destruction in Africa and beyond.
I also wanted to shine on a light on some of the other artists that engaged with the notion of climate justice and the natural world, click the globes below to find out more!
