The Wick List

Viewing The Royal Academy explores art’s colonial history

The Wick Culture - Lubaina Himid RA, Naming the Money, 2004 Mixed media installation with sound, dimensions variable National Museums Liverpool, International Slavery Museum, Gift of Lubaina Himid, 2013 Courtesy the artist, Hollybush Gardens, London and National Museums, Liverpool © Spike Island, Bristol. Photo: Stuart Whipps
Above  Lubaina Himid RA, Naming the Money, 2004 Mixed media installation with sound, dimensions variable National Museums Liverpool, International Slavery Museum, Gift of Lubaina Himid, 2013 Courtesy the artist, Hollybush Gardens, London and National Museums, Liverpool © Spike Island, Bristol. Photo: Stuart Whipps
The Wick Culture - Sir Joshua Reynolds PRA, Portrait of a Man, probably Francis Barber, c. 1770 Oil on canvas, 78.7 x 63.8 cm The Menil Collection, Houston Photo © Hickey-Robertson, Houston
Above  Sir Joshua Reynolds PRA, Portrait of a Man, probably Francis Barber, c. 1770 Oil on canvas, 78.7 x 63.8 cm The Menil Collection, Houston Photo © Hickey-Robertson, Houston
The Wick Culture - Kerry James Marshall Hon RA, Scipio Moorhead, Portrait of Himself, 1776, 2007 Acrylic on PVC panel, 71.1 x 55.9 cm Paul & De Gray © Kerry James Marshall. Courtesy of the artist and Jack Shainman Gallery, New York. Photo: James Prinz Photography
Above  Kerry James Marshall Hon RA, Scipio Moorhead, Portrait of Himself, 1776, 2007 Acrylic on PVC panel, 71.1 x 55.9 cm Paul & De Gray © Kerry James Marshall. Courtesy of the artist and Jack Shainman Gallery, New York. Photo: James Prinz Photography
The Wick Culture - Tavares Strachan, The First Supper (Galaxy Black) (detail), 2023 Bronze, black patina, gold leaf, 217.3 x 928.6 x 267.9 cm Courtesy of the artist and Courtesy of Glenstone Museum, Potomac, Maryland. Photo: Jonty Wilde
Above  Tavares Strachan, The First Supper (Galaxy Black) (detail), 2023 Bronze, black patina, gold leaf, 217.3 x 928.6 x 267.9 cm Courtesy of the artist and Courtesy of Glenstone Museum, Potomac, Maryland. Photo: Jonty Wilde
The Wick Culture - John Singleton Copley RA, Watson and the Shark, 1778 Oil on canvas, 183.5 x 229.6 cm Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. Gift of Mrs George von Lengerke Meyer Photograph © 2024 Museum of Fine Arts, Boston
Above  John Singleton Copley RA, Watson and the Shark, 1778 Oil on canvas, 183.5 x 229.6 cm Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. Gift of Mrs George von Lengerke Meyer Photograph © 2024 Museum of Fine Arts, Boston
The Wick Culture - J. M. W. Turner RA, Whalers, c. 1845 Oil on canvas, 91.8 x 122.6 cm Lent by The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, Catharine Lorillard Wolfe Collection, Wolfe Fund
Above  J. M. W. Turner RA, Whalers, c. 1845 Oil on canvas, 91.8 x 122.6 cm Lent by The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, Catharine Lorillard Wolfe Collection, Wolfe Fund
The Wick Culture - Kara Walker Hon RA, no world, from An Unpeopled Land in Uncharted Waters, 2010 Etching with aquatint, sugar-lift, spit-bite and drypoint on paper, 60.6 x 76.8 cm British Museum, London © Kara Walker, courtesy of Sikkema Jenkins & Co. and Sprüth Magers
Above  Kara Walker Hon RA, no world, from An Unpeopled Land in Uncharted Waters, 2010 Etching with aquatint, sugar-lift, spit-bite and drypoint on paper, 60.6 x 76.8 cm British Museum, London © Kara Walker, courtesy of Sikkema Jenkins & Co. and Sprüth Magers
The Wick Culture - Francis Harwood, Bust of a Man, 1758 Black stone (pietra di paragone) on a yellow Siena marble socle, 69.9 x 50.2 x 26.7 cm The J. Paul Getty Museum, Los Angeles Digital image courtesy of Getty’s Open Content Program
Above  Francis Harwood, Bust of a Man, 1758 Black stone (pietra di paragone) on a yellow Siena marble socle, 69.9 x 50.2 x 26.7 cm The J. Paul Getty Museum, Los Angeles Digital image courtesy of Getty’s Open Content Program
The Wick Culture - Ellen Gallagher Hon RA, Whale Falls, 2017 Oil, acrylic, ink and paper on canvas, 188 x 202 cm The Ekard Collection © Ellen Gallagher Courtesy the artist and Hauser & Wirth Photo: Ernst Moritz
Above  Ellen Gallagher Hon RA, Whale Falls, 2017 Oil, acrylic, ink and paper on canvas, 188 x 202 cm The Ekard Collection © Ellen Gallagher Courtesy the artist and Hauser & Wirth Photo: Ernst Moritz
The Wick Culture - Sonia Boyce OBE RA, Lay back, keep quiet and think of what made Britain so great, 1986 Charcoal, pastel and watercolour on paper, 152.5 x 65 cm (each) Arts Council Collection, Southbank Centre, London © Sonia Boyce. All Rights Reserved, DACS 2024
Above  Sonia Boyce OBE RA, Lay back, keep quiet and think of what made Britain so great, 1986 Charcoal, pastel and watercolour on paper, 152.5 x 65 cm (each) Arts Council Collection, Southbank Centre, London © Sonia Boyce. All Rights Reserved, DACS 2024
The Wick Culture - Hew Locke RA, Armada, 2017–19 Installation: wood, textile, metal, string, plastic, rubber, paper and paint, dimensions variable Tate. Purchased with assistance from Tate International Council and with Art Fund support 2021 Courtesy the artist and Ikon Gallery. Photo: Stuart Whipps © Hew Locke. All Rights Reserved, DACS 2024
Above  Hew Locke RA, Armada, 2017–19 Installation: wood, textile, metal, string, plastic, rubber, paper and paint, dimensions variable Tate. Purchased with assistance from Tate International Council and with Art Fund support 2021 Courtesy the artist and Ikon Gallery. Photo: Stuart Whipps © Hew Locke. All Rights Reserved, DACS 2024
The Wick Culture - Lubaina Himid RA, Naming the Money, 2004 Mixed media installation with sound, dimensions variable National Museums Liverpool, International Slavery Museum, Gift of Lubaina Himid, 2013 Courtesy the artist, Hollybush Gardens, London and National Museums, Liverpool © Spike Island, Bristol. Photo: Stuart Whipps
Above  Lubaina Himid RA, Naming the Money, 2004 Mixed media installation with sound, dimensions variable National Museums Liverpool, International Slavery Museum, Gift of Lubaina Himid, 2013 Courtesy the artist, Hollybush Gardens, London and National Museums, Liverpool © Spike Island, Bristol. Photo: Stuart Whipps
The Wick Culture - Sir Joshua Reynolds PRA, Portrait of a Man, probably Francis Barber, c. 1770 Oil on canvas, 78.7 x 63.8 cm The Menil Collection, Houston Photo © Hickey-Robertson, Houston
Above  Sir Joshua Reynolds PRA, Portrait of a Man, probably Francis Barber, c. 1770 Oil on canvas, 78.7 x 63.8 cm The Menil Collection, Houston Photo © Hickey-Robertson, Houston
The Wick Culture - Kerry James Marshall Hon RA, Scipio Moorhead, Portrait of Himself, 1776, 2007 Acrylic on PVC panel, 71.1 x 55.9 cm Paul & De Gray © Kerry James Marshall. Courtesy of the artist and Jack Shainman Gallery, New York. Photo: James Prinz Photography
Above  Kerry James Marshall Hon RA, Scipio Moorhead, Portrait of Himself, 1776, 2007 Acrylic on PVC panel, 71.1 x 55.9 cm Paul & De Gray © Kerry James Marshall. Courtesy of the artist and Jack Shainman Gallery, New York. Photo: James Prinz Photography
The Wick Culture - Tavares Strachan, The First Supper (Galaxy Black) (detail), 2023 Bronze, black patina, gold leaf, 217.3 x 928.6 x 267.9 cm Courtesy of the artist and Courtesy of Glenstone Museum, Potomac, Maryland. Photo: Jonty Wilde
Above  Tavares Strachan, The First Supper (Galaxy Black) (detail), 2023 Bronze, black patina, gold leaf, 217.3 x 928.6 x 267.9 cm Courtesy of the artist and Courtesy of Glenstone Museum, Potomac, Maryland. Photo: Jonty Wilde
The Wick Culture - John Singleton Copley RA, Watson and the Shark, 1778 Oil on canvas, 183.5 x 229.6 cm Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. Gift of Mrs George von Lengerke Meyer Photograph © 2024 Museum of Fine Arts, Boston
Above  John Singleton Copley RA, Watson and the Shark, 1778 Oil on canvas, 183.5 x 229.6 cm Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. Gift of Mrs George von Lengerke Meyer Photograph © 2024 Museum of Fine Arts, Boston
The Wick Culture - J. M. W. Turner RA, Whalers, c. 1845 Oil on canvas, 91.8 x 122.6 cm Lent by The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, Catharine Lorillard Wolfe Collection, Wolfe Fund
Above  J. M. W. Turner RA, Whalers, c. 1845 Oil on canvas, 91.8 x 122.6 cm Lent by The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, Catharine Lorillard Wolfe Collection, Wolfe Fund
The Wick Culture - Kara Walker Hon RA, no world, from An Unpeopled Land in Uncharted Waters, 2010 Etching with aquatint, sugar-lift, spit-bite and drypoint on paper, 60.6 x 76.8 cm British Museum, London © Kara Walker, courtesy of Sikkema Jenkins & Co. and Sprüth Magers
Above  Kara Walker Hon RA, no world, from An Unpeopled Land in Uncharted Waters, 2010 Etching with aquatint, sugar-lift, spit-bite and drypoint on paper, 60.6 x 76.8 cm British Museum, London © Kara Walker, courtesy of Sikkema Jenkins & Co. and Sprüth Magers
The Wick Culture - Francis Harwood, Bust of a Man, 1758 Black stone (pietra di paragone) on a yellow Siena marble socle, 69.9 x 50.2 x 26.7 cm The J. Paul Getty Museum, Los Angeles Digital image courtesy of Getty’s Open Content Program
Above  Francis Harwood, Bust of a Man, 1758 Black stone (pietra di paragone) on a yellow Siena marble socle, 69.9 x 50.2 x 26.7 cm The J. Paul Getty Museum, Los Angeles Digital image courtesy of Getty’s Open Content Program
The Wick Culture - Ellen Gallagher Hon RA, Whale Falls, 2017 Oil, acrylic, ink and paper on canvas, 188 x 202 cm The Ekard Collection © Ellen Gallagher Courtesy the artist and Hauser & Wirth Photo: Ernst Moritz
Above  Ellen Gallagher Hon RA, Whale Falls, 2017 Oil, acrylic, ink and paper on canvas, 188 x 202 cm The Ekard Collection © Ellen Gallagher Courtesy the artist and Hauser & Wirth Photo: Ernst Moritz
The Wick Culture - Sonia Boyce OBE RA, Lay back, keep quiet and think of what made Britain so great, 1986 Charcoal, pastel and watercolour on paper, 152.5 x 65 cm (each) Arts Council Collection, Southbank Centre, London © Sonia Boyce. All Rights Reserved, DACS 2024
Above  Sonia Boyce OBE RA, Lay back, keep quiet and think of what made Britain so great, 1986 Charcoal, pastel and watercolour on paper, 152.5 x 65 cm (each) Arts Council Collection, Southbank Centre, London © Sonia Boyce. All Rights Reserved, DACS 2024
The Wick Culture - Hew Locke RA, Armada, 2017–19 Installation: wood, textile, metal, string, plastic, rubber, paper and paint, dimensions variable Tate. Purchased with assistance from Tate International Council and with Art Fund support 2021 Courtesy the artist and Ikon Gallery. Photo: Stuart Whipps © Hew Locke. All Rights Reserved, DACS 2024
Above  Hew Locke RA, Armada, 2017–19 Installation: wood, textile, metal, string, plastic, rubber, paper and paint, dimensions variable Tate. Purchased with assistance from Tate International Council and with Art Fund support 2021 Courtesy the artist and Ikon Gallery. Photo: Stuart Whipps © Hew Locke. All Rights Reserved, DACS 2024

Entangled Pasts, 1768 – now: Art, Colonialism and Change

Royal Academy, Piccadilly, W1
3 February – 28 April 2024

The Royal Academy unpicks the threads that tie art to Britain’s colonial history in Entangled Pasts, drawing on its own collections and loans from other organisations. It brings together 100 artworks – spanning from the foundation of the RA in 1768 to now – to examine the role of art in shaping narratives of empire, enslavement, resistance, abolition, indenture and colonialism, while reckoning with its own complex links to these movements.

Contemporary perspectives come courtesy of artists, including Yinka Shonibare, Sonia Boyce, Barbara Walker and John Akomfrah. Among the highlights are Hew Locke’s haunting fleet of ragged ships suspended from the ceiling, reflecting the movement of people across time, and John Akomfrah’s 43-minute visual assault, Vertigo Sea, in which images of historical tragedies – from slave killings to drowned migrants – are cut with scenes from nature. Horrifying yet captivating in equal measure.
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Dates
03 February 2024 — 28 April 2024
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The Wick Culture - Selah, 2025, Gabriel Moses. Image courtesy of 180 Studios
The Wick List

Viewing Gabriel Moses: Selah at 180 Studios

The Wick Culture - Me and Esme in a Korean Restaurant, 2024, Chantal Joffe. © Chantal Joffe, courtesy of the artist and Victoria Miro. Photos by Jack Hems.  
The Wick List

Viewing Chantal Joffe: The Dog’s Birthday at Skarstedt Paris

The Wick Culture - Horizontal–Vaakasuora by Eija-Liisa Ahtila. Image courtesy of Kew Gardens
The Wick List

Viewing The Power of Trees at Kew Gardens

The Wick Culture - Amoako Boafo, Shoulder Stand, 2023. Amoako Boafo, Black Cycle, 2025. © Amoako Boafo, Photo: Prudence Cuming Associates Ltd, Courtesy Gagosian
The Wick List

Viewing Amoako Boafo at Gagosian London

The Wick Culture - Rose Wylie, Henry Triangle, 1996. Image courtesy of the artist and David Zwirner
The Wick List

Viewing Rose Wylie at David Zwirner

The Wick Culture - The neck from a stoneware bottle with a bearded face known as a Bartmann bottle 1500s – 1600s. The bearded face decorating the neck lies half-buried on the foreshore. Image courtesy of Alessio Checconi and London Museum
The Wick List

Viewing Secrets of the Thames at the London Museum