One of Britain鈥檚 most important and celebrated artists听and curators,听Turner Prize Winner听Professor听Lubaina听Himid听CBE听has spent decades exploring the politics of听race, gender and class.听Early works like sculpture听We Will Be听(1983) or mural听Justice, Unity, Equality, Freedom听(1985) proclaim confident Black figures in dialogue with Black history, culture and resistance movements:听mixing together听visions of the past and听potential听futures to proclaim听in a vital vision.听贬颈尘颈诲鈥檚听practice is keenly attuned to the ways in which contemporary politics continue to be shaped by or draw energy from colonialism and struggles for liberation. In the sculpture听Toussaint听尝鈥橭惫别谤迟耻谤别听(1987), a portrait of the 1791-1804 Haitian Revolution leader听is collaged together with听current-day听newspaper coverage of听racist violence听鈥 accompanied by the caption: 鈥榯his news wouldn鈥檛 be news if you had heard of听Toussaint听尝鈥橭惫别谤迟耻谤别鈥.听Alongside her artmaking,听贬颈尘颈诲鈥檚听curatorial practice also had a huge impact on art history: exhibitions including听Five Black Women听(1983) at the Africa Centre,听Black Woman Time Now听(1983) at Battersea Art Centre,听and听The Thin Black Line听(1985) at the ICA.听
In her painting听Between the Two My Heart is Balanced听(1991),听two Black women sit in a boat听with a stack of navigation charts between them.听The work reimagines James Tissot鈥檚听Portsmouth Dockyard听(c.1877) in which a Highland Sergeant sits听between two听white听women he is picking for a romantic partner.听In听贬颈尘颈诲鈥檚听reinterpretation, her figures tear up the navigational charts and throw the pieces overboard,听in what the artist described as a 鈥渃all to arms鈥.听The artist鈥檚 revolutionary images are also accompanied by and interlinked with demands for historical justice.听Her sculptural installation,听Naming the Money听(2004) responds to 迟丑别听seventeenth- and eighteenth-century听practice of wealthy white portraits accompanied by Black听servants or enslaved people.听In听Naming the Money听these figures are stripped of their white masters, and together form an army or a collective imaginatively standing together.听Portraits of enslaved people also adorn听贬颈尘颈诲鈥檚听series of painted antique porcelain,听Swallow Hard: The Lancaster Dinner Service听(2007), exposing听how听the economics of slavery underpinned British society听and culture.听听
贬颈尘颈诲鈥檚听practice insists that racism is not just the preserve of 迟丑别听conservative听right, but听is as much a part of liberalism:听her series听Negative Positives: The Guardian Archive听(2007-15),听painted听newspaper pages听draw attention to the portrayal of Black people in 迟丑别听British press.听Considering听how听迟丑别听legacies of slavery and colonialism are still ongoing in the present, historical violence sometimes haunts听贬颈尘颈诲鈥檚听subjects.听Her work听Le听Rodeur: The Exchange听(2016)听responds to the murder of enslaved people on a French slave ship in 1819 鈥 drowned because they were considered no longer profitable after contracting an eye disease.听The听painting portrays a series of Black figures, one with a bird鈥檚 head, who gather in an abstract interior overlooking the sea: a听surreal and speculative vision of otherworldly times and places or possible futures to come.听Following exhibitions at Modern Art Oxford,听Spike Island and Nottingham Contemporary,听Himid听won the 2017 Turner Prize, and听will be holding a major retrospective at Tate听Modern听in 2021.听
Professor听Lubaina听Himid听CBE听(b.鈥痁anzibar,鈥1954) lives and works in Preston, UK, and is Professor of Contemporary Art at the University of Central Lancashire. She is the winner of the 2017 Turner Prize.听Himid听has exhibited extensively in the UK and abroad. In 2021听Himid听will present a major monographic exhibition at Tate Modern, London. Significant solo exhibitions include鈥Spotlights, Tate Britain, London (2019);鈥The Grab Test, Frans Hals Museum, Haarlem, The Netherlands (2019);鈥Lubaina听Himid, CAPC Bordeaux, France (2019);鈥Work From Underneath, New Museum, New York (2019);鈥Gifts to Kings,鈥MRAC Languedoc Roussillon Midi-Pyr茅n茅es,听厂茅谤颈驳苍补苍听(2018);鈥Our Kisses are Petals,鈥疊ALTIC Centre for Contemporary Art, Gateshead (2018);鈥The Truth Is Never Watertight,听Badischer听Kunstverein, Karlsruhe (2017);鈥Navigation Charts, Spike Island, Bristol (2017); and鈥Invisible Strategies, Modern Art Oxford (2017).听听
Selected group exhibitions include Frieze Sculpture, London (2020);鈥Risquons-Tout, WIELS, Contemporary Art Centre, Brussels (2020);鈥Slow Painting, Hayward Touring UK travelling exhibition (2020);鈥En听Plein Air, The High Line, New York (2019鈥2020); Sharjah Biennial 14, UAE (2019); Glasgow International (2018); Berlin Biennale (2018);鈥疶he Place is Here,鈥Nottingham Contemporary, UK (2017);鈥Keywords, Tate Liverpool (2014); and鈥Burning Down the House,鈥Gwangju Biennale (2014). Her work is held in various museum and public collections, including Tate; British Council Collection; Arts Council Collection; UK Government Art Collection; Museum Ludwig, Cologne; Victoria & Albert Museum, London; National Museums Liverpool; Whitworth Art Gallery, Manchester; Hammer Museum, Los Angeles; and Rhode Island School of Design, Providence. A monograph, titled鈥Lubaina听Himid: Workshop Manual,鈥was released in 2019 from Koenig Books.听
Organised by Edwin Coomasaru (The 91自拍) and Rachel Warriner (The 91自拍)