Viewing Arthur Timothy: Postcards from a Promised Land

Arthur Timothy’s paintings of deserted beaches, street vendors and abandoned buildings in Sierra Leone will make you stop and stare. Painted from holiday pictures from 1985 until the present day, they showcase the country’s great natural beauty and resilience in the face of adversity, while also revealing its ongoing transformation.

As you meander around the gallery, you’ll encounter the people, places and architecture of this ‘promised land’. (Sierra Leone’s capital, Freetown, was founded in 1792 as a settlement for freed African American, Afro-Caribbean and liberated African slaves.) Some of the paintings are deeply personal; others less so. What unites them all, though, is ‘the ongoing triumph of beauty over hardship.’

Using vibrant tones and intriguing angles, Timothy offers a nuanced insight into the place he grew up and shows that despite the struggles endured in the wake of slavery, colonialism, Ebola and Civil War, Sierra Leone is a place of outstanding majesty. Catch it while you can!