Exhibition Review: Lubaina Himid at the Tate Modern
Crisp and vibrant against the almost clinically white expanse the work of Lubaina Himid beckons the curious. Uniformly positioned, the colourful squares draw you close only to push you back immediately, leaving you perplexed at the juxtaposition of craftsman tools accompanied by more philosophically inclined slogans. As you circle the room, it feels as though you are attempting to pin one work to the other with invisible red string as though one big clue board to the inner workings of Himid’s mind, you are confronted with the most beautiful moulds you will have ever seen. Scattered purposefully across a white platform, dotted with small model trees, are moulds of different shapes and sizes, each individually painted with bold geometric patterns or smaller more detailed bird motifs. The plaque to the side reads ‘Jelly Mould Pavillions for Liverpool’. This piece is a perfect representation of how it is possible for sculpture and urban planning can intersect to create not only a visually pleasing open space, but also one that considers how an area can inspire and thus uplift those who use it.
Jelly Mould Pavilions
Once you break out of this contemplation on art and space, you are drawn to the second room with a changing audio: blue, cerulean and other synonyms for blue in three languages. Past the cluster of speakers dominating the room, a strip of blue patterns circle the room, evocative of a life line inking each seemingly unrelated object to the other. indeed, you feel as though you are intruding on something private, a shared memory whose precious natures is accentuated by the delicate nature of the patterns.
It is clear at once you depart the first two rooms, that they have been preparing you for the subsequent exploration of space. The following rooms explore how humans interact with this concept by subverting and accentuating space with various mediums and materials. This exploration of space is particularly present in some of Himid’s work from the 1990s. These depict women in the center of the frame, strategizing. The perspective of the painting is such that it invites you to pick up a chair and join in by asking ‘What Is The Strategy?’.
What makes this exhibition all the more powerful is that each piece can be viewed as stand-alone creations, whilst also in spite of their differences demonstrating an unwavering connection. This duality allows for the viewer to connect with each piece but simultaneously reminds them of their role as a mere spectator to what is unfolding before them. This feeling of being a spectator is indicative of Himid’s training in theatre design and her focus on social engagement with her work. The issue of social engagement is pivotal when considering the subject matters explored in her work, chiefly that of the representation of the African Diaspora.
The Operating Table, 2017–18
A pioneer of the Black Art movement of the 1980s, Himid (amongst others), established a space in which black artists could challenge the conditions of their identity politically, socially and historically. When considering the exhibition at the Tate Modern, it is clear that the exploration of these concepts remain at the forefront of her work, particularly towards the end of the exhibition which display paintings in which Himid depicts a variety of figures engaged in different ambiguous daily activities. Here you are presented with a snapshot into the lives of these figures, witnessing their relationships with one another and causing you to ask yourself ‘What Happens Next?’.
Beside these images, you can find a series entitled ‘Le Rodeur’. Like the aforesaid paintings depicting the mundane, at first glance the figures present in these paintings convey a similar energy which is swiftly disrupted by a palpable tension perceived between each figure. This series, named after a French slave ship, depicts (albeit indirectly) the murder of 39 innocents as a result of a disease causing blindness riddling the ship in 1819. The modern appearance of these figures within this historical context appears to serve as a reminder of the continuous injustices still faced today and how we cannot be ignorant in suggesting that these actions were a product of their time, but rather recognize how they remain pervasive in the very foundations of our society.
Le Rodeur: The Pulley 2017