Entangled Pasts, 1768–now

“It is the frankest assessment by a British institution of its own colonial history. The academy’s president, Rebecca Salter, called it a “historically and structurally white, Eurocentric institution, where much-needed change towards decolonial praxis has only recently begun”.” —  The Times
Informed by ongoing research, this handsome exhibition catalogue published to accompany Entangled Pasts, 1768-now at the Royal Academy 3 February – 28 April 2024, features the work of artists connected with the Academy in an exploration of migration, exchange, artistic traditions, identity and belonging. Contemporary and historic works are brought together as part of a conversation about art and its role in shaping narratives of empire, enslavement, resistance, abolition and colonialism, and how it may help set a course for the future. The life-size painted cut-out figures of Lubaina Himid’s installation Naming the Money; Hew Locke’s Armada, a flotilla of ‘votive boats’ recalling different periods and places; powerful paintings, photographs, films, sculptures, drawings and prints by Sonia Boyce, Frank Bowling, John Akomfrah, Isaac Julien, El Anatsui, Kerry James Marshall, Kara Walker, Shahzia Sikander, Mohini Chandra and Betye Saar; and historical works by artists such as Joshua Reynolds, J. M. W. Turner and John Singleton Copley create connections across time that examine questions of power, representation and history.