Entangled Pasts, 1768 – Now. Art, Colonialism and Change

David Martin, Portrait of Dido Elizabeth Belle and Lady Elizabeth Murray, ca. 1778, Scone Palace, Scotland.

Featuring 100 major contemporary and historical works, Entangled Pasts is conceived 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.

Artworks by leading contemporary British artists of the African, Caribbean and South Asian diasporas, including Sonia Boyce, Frank Bowling and Mohini Chandra will be on display alongside works by artists from the past 250 years including Joshua Reynolds, J.M.W.Turner and John Singleton Copley. Also noteworthy are a room of life-sized cut-out painted figures by Lubaina Himid, an immersive video installation by Isaac Julien, a giant flotilla of model boats by Hew Locke, and a major new sculpture in the Courtyard by Tavares Strachan. The exhibition also includes paintings, photographs, sculptures, drawings and prints by El Anatsui, Barbara Walker, Kerry James Marshall, Kara Walker, Shahzia Sikander, John Akomfrah and Betye Saar, creating connections across time which explore questions of power, representation and history as well as issues surrounding migration, exchange, artistic traditions, identity and belonging.

The website features an excellent section presenting some of the artworks and themes in more detail.