Viewing Theaster Gates at White Cube  

Known for his transformative work that blends sculpture, architectural interventions, installation, and performance, Theaster Gates has once again turned the gallery space into a forum for dialogue and a site for memory — one that challenges our understanding of history or place.

To mark the centenary of Malcom X’s birth and the 60th anniversary of his assassination, ‘1965: Malcolm in the Winter: A Translation Exercise’ is inspired by the archive of late Japanese journalist Ei Nagata and his partner Haruhi Ishitani – both students of Black American history, both were present at Malcom X’s assassination on 21 February 1965. Through a series of architectural interventions, large-scale installations, archival works and new film works, Gates engages with Japanese philosophy and craftsmanship, and their inherent concepts of care and preservation.

Gates has been visiting Japan continuously over two decades, since going there to train as a potter aged 25. But he became interested in Ishitani and Nagata more recently – having met Ishitani, now 87, during the run of his exhibition at Tokyo’s Mori Museum in 2024. Ishitani and Nagata had translated Malcom X’s speeches to Japanese – and Ishitani sold the archive to Gates, which now serves as the premise and pivot of this White Cube exhibition.