Reframing Picton, a community-led exhibition featuring the work of a Trinidadian artist has opened at National Museum Cardiff.
The exhibition includes two newly commissioned artworks which will become part of the National Collection of Wales.
The two new commissions include a comprehensive sculpture installation, objects from the Amgueddfa Cymru collections, stunning photography and film.
The commissions follow a call from Amgueddfa Cymru in January 2021 for artists to explore alternatives to the colonial narrative represented by the portrait of Lieutenant-General Sir Thomas Picton and focus on Black experiences.
New artworks by Gesiye and Laku Neg explore narratives of descent, healing, transformation and empowerment and they challenge the colonial narratives that have traditionally existed in the galleries of National Museum Cardiff by centering black consciousness, experiences and voices.
Gesiye (pronounced gay-see-yay) is a multidisciplinary artist from Trinidad and Tobago. Her work with individuals and communities explores storytelling, connection and healing in various mediums and is inspired by a deep love and respect for the land.
Her commission, “The Wound is a Portal” uses the cathartic process of tattooing to explore generational traumas in relation to the land. Her installation includes a series of portraits and a short film. Each tattoo in this intergenerational work is linked through a stop motion animation, facilitating a recovery of agency and acting as a portal for reconnecting with self, each other and the earth.
Gesiye said: This healing offering is a portal, an ode to our island, to its beauty and to our belonging. The trauma of slavery and colonialism continues to affect the African diaspora’s relationship with the land. In The Wound is a Portal, I use Afrodiasporic healing modalities to weave the mythology of land and personhood, celebrating individual identity while creating space to recognize our truths and transform our pain. I am grateful to have created this work in collaboration with musicians, designers, filmmakers, photographers and eight volunteers from across the island who met through this experience.
The work by Trinidadian artist Gesiye is called The Wound is a Portal
Laku Neg (Black Court in Haitian Kwéyòl) is represented by four artists, three of Trinidadian heritage, who live and work in the UK. The group promotes expressions of knowledge of the African diaspora through the arts.
Laku Neg’s ‘Spirited’ commission is a comprehensive installation – a tapestry of memory and understanding, comprising a metal sculpture, bamboo frames, twisted paper, found objects and audiovisual elements. It is inspired by the traditions, practices and aesthetics of Trinidad and Tobago’s Carnival Ol’ Mas. Their commission considers a re-introduction of Luisa, Thisbe and Present, named victims of Picton’s brutal regime in Trinidad.
“This ancestral work honors the rugged African traditions in Trinidad that nurture and sustain our island culture. Here, we offer re-imaginings and re-creations of a period in which Trinidadian and Welsh history overlap – and which continues to fill our lives with inequality. We recognize that injustice and racism are still with us, as is the power of transformation. We celebrate our presence and belonging. We are here”, said Laku Neg.
These works will help reframe the legacy of Lieutenant-General Sir Thomas Picton (1758-1815) and give a voice to those most affected by Picton’s actions and those living with the legacy today.
Alongside the new commissions, Picton’s portrait will return to the museum’s walls in a traveling frame following its removal in November 2021.
The portrait of Sir Martin Archer Shee has been part of Amgueddfa Cymru’s collections since its foundation in 1907.
The decision to reinterpret the portrait was made as part of Reframing Picton – a youth-led project team involving SSAP Youth Leadership Network and Amgueddfa Cymru Producers.
The project team worked with museum curators to provide additional information and context about Picton’s legacy as Governor of Trinidad in the late 19th century. This includes his brutal treatment of the people of Trinidad, including the torture of 14-year-old Luisa Calderon – information that was not part of the museum’s previous interpretation of the portrait.
The project team looked at objects across Amgueddfa Cymru’s collections to reinterpret the narrative around Picton.
Objects included in the interpretation included a newly acquired transcript of Picton’s trial in London in 1806; anti-slavery medals produced to support the anti-slavery movement of the late 18th century in
Great Britain; and a medal from the 1819 Eisteddfod, won by Walter Davies in 1819 for an ode to Picton.
The Reframing Picton project team said: “For generations, even up until recent years, saying ‘Black Lives Matter’ has been controversial. While working on this project, we made it a point to expose – not erase – history, and it was essential that we directly involve people connected to Trinidad, where Picton cemented his reputation for barbarism during his tenure as Governor.
“One of our goals for this exhibit was to create a place of awareness, not indoctrination. To create a dialogue between museums, the governments that fund them and the communities they serve. To create healthy ways of dealing with trauma. We hope this exhibition will encourage visitors of all backgrounds to
listen and learn from the past and put these lessons into practice today.”
