House Slave - Field Slave

In 2007, Nicola Green created House Slave - Field Slave with Anti-Slavery International to commemorate the anniversary of the abolition of the slave trade. This work explored the concept of contemporary slavery and the stories of those still enslaved around the world. The large altarpiece scale triptychs were made with acrylic paint and 24ct gold leaf. Greens works were accompanied by preparatory studies, as well as artefacts of contemporary slavery from the International Slavery Museum in Liverpool and extraordinary photos and text from Anti-Slavery International.

The works were first exhibited at the Dulwich Picture Gallery in 2007, and then shown as part of Haringey’s Black History Month at Bruce Castle Museum in 2010. The triptych is now in the permanent collection at the International Slavery Museum in Liverpool. In conjunction with the exhibitions, workshops were held at Dulwich Picture Gallery, The Prince’s Drawing Clubs, and International Slavery Museum, Liverpool. In these workshops, students developed their skills in reading a work of art as a narrative, and responded by creating artworks that told their own personal story.

To coincide with House Slave – Field Slave Nicola worked with Gillian Wolfe CEB, the director of Learning and Public Affairs at the Dulwich Picture Gallery, developing and running educational workshops as part of their educational programme. These workshops were based on teaching the principles of visual storytelling, through Green’s work House Slave – Field Slave. The workshops were subsequently taught at Bruce Castle Museum, London and through The Prince’s Drawing School Drawing Clubs.

"The reason Nicola Green has painted feet and not faces is because slaves have very little sense of their own identity; slaves don't even own their bodies..." Ian Dejardin, director of The Dulwich Picture Gallery.