Liverpool Biennial Explores the Legacy of Slavery in a Provocative Exhibition
Liverpool Biennial Explores the Legacy of Slavery in a Provocative Exhibition
- Liverpool Biennial explores the legacy of slavery in a provocative exhibition.
- Curated by Khanyisile Mbongwa, the biennial showcases works by artists from the Global South, challenging traditional European painting.
- Exhibits include multimedia sculptures, thought-provoking performances, and installations addressing historical atrocities and the city’s complicity in colonialism.
urated by Khanyisile Mbongwa, this year's Liverpool Biennial delves into the city's history of international slave trading, focusing on its docks. Titled "uMoya: The Sacred Return of Lost Things," the exhibition showcases works by 35 artists, predominantly from the Global South, using performance, video art, film, and installation to challenge traditional European painting. Mbongwa emphasized the importance of preserving the artists' integrity and subverting institutional concerns by displaying works in unconventional locations alongside traditional gallery spaces.
In the vast Tobacco Warehouse at Stanley Dock, Julien Creuzet’s multimedia sculpture, “The Possessed of Pigalle or the Tragedy of King Christophe” (2023), hangs from the ceiling. Electrical wire and ribbon intertwine to create an eerie assemblage that pays homage to Creuzet’s Martinican heritage. In another hangar, Albert Ibokwe Khoza performed “The Black Circus of the Republic of Bantu” (2022), a thought-provoking piece memorializing the victims of historical human zoos and challenging the audience’s complicity in colonialism.
At Tate Liverpool, Francis Offman’s installation, “Untitled” (2019–23), evokes the tragic history of Rwanda. Draped fabric, mottled with paint and coffee grounds, symbolizes human bodies, while books held up by callipers reference the Belgian colonizers’ measurements used to segregate Rwandans. A bible belonging to Offman’s mother, carried during her escape from the Rwandan Genocide, stands at the center, bearing witness to the atrocities committed.
Although the exhibition provides powerful narratives, some critics feel that Mbongwa’s focus on responses to European imperialism overlooks important aspects. Films like Melanie Manchot’s “STEPHEN” (2023), which explores white people in the recovery community, seem tangential to the curatorial theme. Questions about the omission of Liverpool’s Black communities were met with discomfort, leading to concerns about a limited perspective. Nonetheless, the exhibition succeeds in highlighting Liverpool’s role in slavery and its impact on contemporary cultural identity.
