In Seven Days…

Between August 2008 and January 2009, Nicola Green witnessed, first-hand, Barack Obama’s journey to becoming the first African American President of the United States. Over six trips across the USA, Green gained unprecedented artistic access to President Obama’s monumental campaign. From his famous DNC nomination speech in Denver to election night in Chicago, to the Inauguration in Washington D.C, Green was behind-the-scenes taking photographs, making sketches, and conversing with citizens, staff and press.

Green was unencumbered by being commissioned; she was nota journalist or press photographer. Her intention was to solely focus only on why this story had captured so much interest across the world. As the story began to unfold, she was struck by the far reaching implications of Obama’s campaign and the huge impact it would have for future generations. She was motivated by her three children who, like President Obama, have mixed heritage.

“I began to think deeply when I was pregnant with our first son about how my children would experience the world differently to me because of the colour of their skin. I wanted to understand what that would mean for them. So, I started thinking about role models, how the world would see them, how they would see the world and what this period in time would mean for future generations.” Nicola Green

Green focused on her role as ‘witness’ on behalf of her children. She was there in person when President Obama spoke on the 45th anniversary of Martin Luther King’s momentous ‘I Have A Dream’ address and she began to think about the wider trajectory of the history of Obama’s campaign. She realised it would be many years before we could truly understand the impact of Obama’s election upon the next generation. She spent years reflecting on what she had witnessed, and the recordings she had made before creating In Seven Days...

In Seven Days… reflects a vibrant connection between the artist and her subject. It illuminates a time in contemporary American history characterised by unbridled optimism and the imperative for racial equality in the highest office in the land. These works tell the story of the participation, support, and the collective action that led to Barack Obama’s meteoric ascent to power as the first African American President of the United States. In Seven Days… captures the significance of the cycle of change and how the impossible can be achieved.

The work, and the accompanying research, has been made as a live and global discussion on race, history, heritage, democracy and representation for perpetuity.

In Seven Days... is in the permanent collections of the National Portrait Gallery - Smithsonian Institution, Washington D.C; The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York; The Library of Congress, Washington D.C; International Slavery Museum, Liverpool; and The Walker Art Gallery, Liverpool.