WHAT? Entangled Pasts 1768 to now. Art, Colonialism and Change.

WHERE? Royal Academy of Arts, Main Galleries, Burlington House, Piccadilly, London W1J OBD

WHEN? Now until 28th April 

WHY GO? To be enlightened.  This is a heavy subject to tackle, but topical, controversial and woven into the history of the Royal Academy ever since it was founded in 1768.  Colonialism is addressed, dissected, explored and navigated through artworks that have affected social, economic and cultural life for centuries in this new blockbuster. 

You will need at least two visits to fully appreciate the magnitude of this huge exhibition that reflects on Britain’s colonial past.  

Opening with Sir Joshua Reynolds, first President of the RA and Turner, whose famous maritime paintings reference the slave trade to contemporary artists like Yinka Shonibare, Kara Walker and Isaac Julien, it invites a roller coaster of emotions. 

Through paintings and sculpture, film and even poetry, it ambitiously suggests we explore the past to understand the future. 

Highlights include an awe-inspiring three-screen film, Vertigo Sea, by pioneering filmmaker John Akomfrah.  Though created in 2015, it sadly verifies that not everything is changing as quickly as it should, as it grapples with subjects like migration and ecology, issues that are even more pertinent today. 

To help set the scene, view the excellent personal introduction from artist Lubaina Himid RA who tells it like it is, ‘a journey through time’.  

Her powerful painted figures, Naming the Money, 2004 sit centre stage with their prep papers on display free in the RA Collection Gallery cabinet.

IN THE KNOW

The drama starts in the courtyard with a masterly sculpture that instagrammers are loving. 

Celebrating communal interaction, The First Supper is a reimagining of Da Vinci’s Last Supper, but with a cast of major African players from the world of politics, art, music and culture. 

It's created by Bahamian-born artist Tavares Strachan, who places himself into the mix alongside legends like Haile Selassie, Marcus Garvey and Mary Seacole and is a monumental image representing our ‘entangled past’!