Stained Metal / 💥New Project Alert!💥

KENYA x JAMAICA x INDIA x CANADA!

I got a lot of flack when I accepted an MBE, a royal honour, from King Charles. Some friends and fans of my work were angry and disappointed. Others called me a sell-out, an Uncle Tom, a coon, etc. I did my best to hold my peace, because there was (there always is) a larger picture and context at play. The plan was (the plan always is) to make art, to articulate complexity, to broaden and deepen understanding.

This is Stained Metal a project in which I ship the MBE medal itself - a piece of the kingdom - to four artists in four formerly-colonised corners of the Empire: Kenya, Jamaica, India and Canada. I will commission new work from local artists, ask them, (as a provocation) what it means to be part of a construct they never asked to join, and we will present their varied answers here in Britain and in Nigeria.

Stained Metal will be a profound exploration of empire, identity, and legacy. The purpose of the work is to better understand the everyday legacies of Empire from those most affected by it, and to add the voices of those we don’t hear enough of to the ongoing debate about Royal Honours.

Co-presented by Fuel, Creative Manchester, and Manchester Museum, Museum of West African Art (MOWAA), the project will be launched as part of my Honorary Fellowship at University of Manchester on May 28th. - Oh yeah, I’m now an honorary fellow there.

The launch-event promises to be an unforgettable night of poetry, storytelling, and thought-provoking conversation. I hope you can make it. Tickets are free, but you have to book…

Wed 28 May / 5:30
Living Worlds gallery
Manchester Museum
Oxford Road
Manchester M13 9PL
Book / here.

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