Unforgotten lives brought vividly to life by new art works at City’s archives
The London Metropolitan Archives have commissioned art works to honor individuals of African, Caribbean, or Asian descent from London’s history.
“Art at the Archive: Reimagining Unforgotten Lives” opens at the City of London Corporation-owned venue on Monday, December 4, and runs until Wednesday, March 27. Entry is free.
Drawing inspiration from a range of individuals featured in LMA’s Unforgotten Lives exhibition, artists Annie-Marie Akussah, Elyssa Rider, and Tara Jerome Bernabé have created five works to bring these stories to life:
Annie-Marie Akussah displays three-dimensional artwork incorporating maps from the London Metropolitan Archives and images of landscapes encountered by Black abolitionist Quobna Ottobah Cugoano, such as the landscape of Ajumayo-Enyan-Essian in Ghana, as well as the West and East India Docks upon his arrival in London.
Elyssa Rider presents oil portraits of Ann Duck, a young woman who lived in London from 1717 to 1744, of whom no images have survived, but whose criminal past is recorded in the Old Bailey court records; and an imagined Japanese woman, addressing the lack of East-Asian women in the archive.
Tara Jerome Bernabé reimagines the lives and images of young Black servants enslaved and forced to work in aristocratic households. Their new woven painting aims to establish a peaceful and more natural connection with the individuals depicted in derogatory sixteenth to eighteenth-century paintings.
Alongside the artwork, LMA archivists have selected archival sources, papers, sketches, and materials that document the inspiration and creative process and, in their words, illustrate “the transformative power of art combined with archival practice.”
Munsur Ali, Chairman of the City of London Corporation’s Culture, Heritage, and Libraries Committee, said:
“Just as the team behind ‘Unforgotten Lives’ deserves praise for curating such an outstanding exhibition, Annie-Marie, Elyssa, and Tara should be thanked for using their considerable talents to interpret these individuals’ lives and introduce them to us, many for the first time.
“While we admire the beauty of their artworks, we should also remember the ugliness of racism, the despicable human trafficking, and the extreme hardships endured by the people depicted in these pieces, and many others before and after them.”
More information about “Art at the Archive” at the London Metropolitan Archives can be found at: Art at the Archive: Reimagining Unforgotten Lives – City of London.
The City of London Corporation is the fourth-largest funder of heritage and cultural activities in the UK, investing over £130 million annually.
The organization manages a range of world-class cultural and heritage institutions, including the Barbican Centre, Tower Bridge, Guildhall School of Music & Drama, Guildhall Art Gallery, London Metropolitan Archives, and Keats House, as well as supporting the London Symphony Orchestra and the Museum of London.