Reference Publications

Uncomfortable Truths: The Shadow of Slave Trading on Contemporary Art and Design

African Arts, Summer, 2008 by Caroline Jacobs

Victoria and Albert Museum, London

February 20-June 17, 2007

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The Victoria and Albert Museum took part in the national celebration of the bicentenary of the Abolition Act, which outlawed slave trading in Britain, with two exhibitions. The first was a year-long highlighting of a series of objects selected for their link with slavery. Titled "Uncomfortable Truths: Traces of the Trade," it consisted of five thematic trails through the Museum's collections: "Consuming the Black Atlantic," "Black Servants in British Homes," "Britain and the West Indies," "Representing Slavery and Abolitionism," and "Gold and Slaves: Transnational Trade Links."

The second exhibition, curated by Zoe Whitley, "Uncomfortable Truths: The Shadow of Slave Trading on Contemporary Art and Design," featured works by eleven contemporary artists who had been working on issues relative to the legacies of slavery and imperialism. They draw on universalizing themes such as (in)humanity, misery, violence, cruelty, courage, resistance, faithfulness, resentment, forgiveness....

By including artists from the three continents involved in the transatlantic slave trade--Africa, America and Europe--the exhibition went beyond reductive categories such as "African art," "Afro-American art," "Black British art," and so forth. It was more in tune with Gilroy's idea of the "black Atlantic" (1993). It reminded the viewer that the slave trade set the basis for international exchanges, mobility, and contemporary globalization. The diversity of the artists' cultural origins and experiences reasserted the worldwide commonality of the heritage of slavery.

Instead of attempting to present an authoritative and normalizing discourse, the exhibition proposed multiple perspectives informed by the artists' present conditions. In this respect, the curatorial stance was somewhat enthused by a postmodern critique of Western grand narratives. The works of art were presented as alternative sources of knowledge which were not based on the so-called scientific methodology of the historical and anthropological disciplines, but on subjective experiences.

The artworks were scattered among the museum's galleries, and stood as interventions upon the museum. They needed to be seen as installations interacting with their environment and bringing to light concealed realities and "uncomfortable truths." This mode of display was intended to catch the public's attention and disturb its expectations and usual view of the institution. This of course generated varied reactions: enthusiasm for its boldness, or hostility due to the disturbance of the galleries' usual display.

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The V&A had commissioned works from four international artists. In the museum's Grand Entrance, visitors came across a monumental painting of a returning slave ship by Mien Sinzogan. Romuald Hazoumes large, serpent-like symbol of perpetuity made of discarded jerry cans animated the museum's Madejski Garden. Upstairs, Yinka Shonibare's Sir Robert Cunliff, Playing inhabited the Norfolk Music Room. Keith Piper's Lost Vitrines disturbed the genteel display of the British Galleries by bringing in illustrations of the usually censured cruelty and racism intrinsic to the former slave colonies.

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The other works exhibited were paper costumes and coffee beans lined chairs by young British artist Anissa-Jane, videos by American artist Michael Paul Britto, liberal interpretations of African heritage by Zimbabwean carver Tapfuma Gutsa, Lubaini Himid's cutouts of slaves animating the British Galleries, German artist Christine Meisner's film about a freed slave from Nigeria and her drawings of African elements in Brazilian heritage, and Fred Wilson's Regina Atra, a black replica of one of the crowns of Queen Victoria.

Some works figured prominently in major spaces of the museums, others stood more discretely in gallery nooks or shadowy corners, rendering their effect even more surprising. They were all identifiable through a system of black labels with colorful profiled heads. The labels provided bits of information about the pieces, as well as interpretation hints for the visitors. A gallery guide was also available, providing the location of all the pieces.

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"Uncomfortable Truths: the Shadow of Slave Trading on Contemporary Art and Design" was a very audacious and interesting display. It offered an aesthetic and poetic insight into the legacy of slavery. It underlined its ongoing importance on peoples' imagination. Also, by dealing with the issue of slavery, which can be considered as the foundation myth of the African Diaspora, the exhibition opened the dialogue to a wider audience, including black communities for whom the museum is usually not relevant. It allowed the museum to become--although only temporarily--a real "contact zone."

The only regrettable aspect of the exhibition was the fact that the galleries were closed for several weeks due to maintenance work. Should this be read as a sign of the uneasiness of British institutions to deal with such a sensitive subject matter? Also, the publication of a catalogue could have served as a basis for further debates.