The Wick List

Viewing Citizens of Memory, The Perimeter

The Wick - Rachel Jones, Lick your teeth, they so clutch, 2021, oil pastel, oil stick on canvas

Above Rachel Jones, Lick your teeth, they so clutch, 2021, oil pastel, oil stick on canvas

The Wick - Installation view of Walter Price’s work in ‘Citizens of Memory’ at The Perimeter gallery, London

Above Installation view of Walter Price’s work in ‘Citizens of Memory’ at The Perimeter gallery, London

The Wick - Tunji Adeniyi-Jones, Sunset Duet, 2021, watercolour and ink on paper

Above Tunji Adeniyi-Jones, Sunset Duet, 2021, watercolour and ink on paper

The Wick - Olivia Sterling, Sweet Violence, 2021, acrylic on canvas, private collection, London

Above Olivia Sterling, Sweet Violence, 2021, acrylic on canvas, private collection, London

The Wick - Ndidi Emefiele, Sail me down deep river, 2020, mixed media and acrylic on canvas, private collection, London

Above Ndidi Emefiele, Sail me down deep river, 2020, mixed media and acrylic on canvas, private collection, London

Above Rachel Jones, Lick your teeth, they so clutch, 2021, oil pastel, oil stick on canvas

Above Installation view of Walter Price’s work in ‘Citizens of Memory’ at The Perimeter gallery, London

Above Tunji Adeniyi-Jones, Sunset Duet, 2021, watercolour and ink on paper

Above Olivia Sterling, Sweet Violence, 2021, acrylic on canvas, private collection, London

Above Ndidi Emefiele, Sail me down deep river, 2020, mixed media and acrylic on canvas, private collection, London

The Perimeter Gallery

18 May — 24 July 2021

Citizens of Memory is a show of glorious paintings by seven artists exploring memory, nostalgia and the Black experience. All seven artists have drawn on both collective and personal histories to investigate how the past can frame experience, shape artistic practice and form identities. The result is electrifying.

You are confronted by works of outstanding energy and vibrancy, among them Sunset Duet (2021) by British-Nigerian artist Tunji Adeniyi-Jones. Taking inspiration from both his Yoruba heritage and British upbringing, Adeniyi-Jones explores the communicative possibilities of the body and dance to transcend cultural boundaries.

Elsewhere, there’s a moving group portrait by Zimbabwean artist Kudzanai-Violet Hwami; and a new six-panel painting by British artist Olivia Sterling. What at first glance looks like a whimsical work depicting innocuous scenes of home cooking is actually something much steelier. These sugar-coated images serve as a commentary on white privilege, the complex issues of othering and racialised discourse.

Curated by the wonderful Aindrea Emelife, this powerful show packs a punch.