John Akomfrah in "London"
John Akomfrah
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Since the early 1980s, the groundbreaking filmmaker John Akomfrah has created enormous, multi-channel video installations that blend archival and original footage and audio. His epic works ambitiously connect the global legacies of slavery and colonialism to environmental degradation and his personal biography. While visiting the Tate Britain, Akomfrah recounts his artistic beginnings, from his fascination with the British Romantic painters John Constable and J.M.W. Turner to his co-founding of the Black Audio Film Collective. Shown shooting a new film on location in the state of Louisiana and editing footage in his studio in East London, Akomfrah explains, “I’m more choreographer than creator.” The artist highlights some recent projects—Vertigo Sea, Purple, and Four Nocturnes—and contextualizes the greater forces that have shaped his life and work: his upbringing in Ghana at a time of political unrest, his family’s subsequent immigration to Britain, the hazardous effects of living next to a London power station, and the xenophobic atmosphere of London during Brexit. “Once you’ve understood that you’re a product of things,” the artist says, “you can’t shake off realizing that from across your life.”
Featured artists
About the artists
John Akomfrah was born in Accra, Ghana, in 1957. A pioneering filmmaker, Akomfrah creates multichannel video installations that critically examine the legacy of colonialism, the Black diaspora, and environmental degradation. Akomfrah weaves together original footage with archival material to create stirring, layered narratives that juxtapose personal and historical memory, past and present, and environmental and human crises.
Buoyed by London’s history of artistic excellence, four artists draw inspiration from decades of British art while contending with the repercussions of colonialism and xenophobia during a time of massive political upheaval in the country.
Educators’ Guides provide information about selected artists and themes, questions for classroom discussions, and hands-on activities that provide students with a fundamental understanding of creative and critical thinking processes.
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