This week, Bahamian artist Tavares Strachan unveiled The First Supper (Galaxy Black) (2023) at the Royal Academy in London, a public sculpture that is a key part of the “Entangled Pasts, 1768-now: Art, Colonialism and Change” exhibition.
In this work, Strachan reimagines Leonardo da Vinci’s The Last Supper (c. 1495–98) by depicting influential figures from Africa and its diaspora, including abolitionist Harriet Tubman, LGBTQ+ rights leader Marsha P. Johnson, and singer Sister Rosetta Tharpe. Set against the Royal Academy’s façade, the sculpture uses black patina and gold leaf to contrast with the surrounding traditional public monuments historically celebrating white men—including the nearby statue of Academy founder Sir Joshua Reynolds.
In the center of The First Supper, Strachan has placed Emperor Haile Selassie I of Ethiopia, revered by some Rastafarians as the messiah, at the center, in lieu of Jesus. The artist also placed himself in the sculpture in the position of Judas.
Open from February 5th to April 28th, the exhibition hopes to reexamine historical narratives around empire, race, and colonialism by juxtaposing the Academy’s historical art in dialogue with contemporary work.
from Artsy News https://ift.tt/pBrjeXV
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