Life Between Islands: Caribbean-British Art 1950s – Now

"Yes, I bought it after seeing the 2021 exhibition. I cannot overstate how important it was as an exhibition in terms of redefining the post-war period in British art history. Again, this shows a whole other narrative going on alongside the artists that we’ve all heard of, like David Hockney and Eduardo Paulozzi and Bridget Riley. There were all these other brilliant artists working too: Frank Bowling and Aubrey Williams, and, later on, Lubaina Himid—these artists who had come from, or had a connection with, the Caribbean. The show predominantly features artists who came from the Caribbean to the UK to work and study, and how they existed both individually and as a group. It felt so eye-opening—as a great exhibition should do. An exhibition should take you to a period you think you know and present it in a new light. As a record of the show and as a book in its own right this catalogue deserves to make this list. It’s fully illustrated, has great essays, is accessible but it is also erudite and packed with information. It also connects to a whole range of books that are just now coming out, questioning what is shown and isn’t shown, and how we perceive things. Books like Alice Proctor’s The Whole Picture question the story of colonial art in museums, and Loot by Barnaby Phillips, offer a timely new perspective on stolen colonial art. Yes, absolutely. It’s an exciting time to be a writer because the ground you are walking on is shifting all the time. I mean, it’s been a slow build—books and papers in post-colonial studies and feminism have been written since the 1970s. But it feels like it’s coming into the mainstream more and more, impacting on exhibitions, collecting strategies, popular books. Mine sits in that camp. And just in terms of people’s interest—there’s an understanding that we can look beyond our own shores. The internet has really helped ideas and art circulate. There’s a sense of being in a global art community now."