“My practice is a quest to reveal hidden histories with a weight that matches the profound nature of the characters I speak for.” Tavares Strachan (b. 1979) is true to his word in There is Light Somewhere, the Hayward Gallery retrospective that speaks volumes. His conceptual approach has fostered a range of ambitious projects across disciplines and forms; futurist busts, cybernetic installations, pan-African illustrations. Presentations at the 2018 Carnegie International and 2019 Venice Biennale have established the Bahamas-born, US-based image-maker as one of the most audacious artists of his generation.

Hayward Gallery, London, presents the first mid-career survey of the MacArthur Genius Grant winner. There is Light Somewhere takes visitors on a journey through Strachan’s work, highlighting the artist’s exploration of cultural visibility. Featuring monumental new sculptural commissions alongside large-scale collages, neon works and mixed-media installations, Strachan invites audiences to engage with characters whose histories have been hidden by bias. This sentiment is expressed in a nine-metre-high neon work that overlooks the Gallery facade, declaring: You Belong Here. Alongside this work is a giant bronze head of 20^th century Black nationalist Marcus Garvey, who was a proponent of Pan-Africanism. From the wider context of Garvey’s life appears a large-scale sculpture of the S.S Yarmouth, flagship of the Black Star Line, the shipping company that sought to facilitate trade between the US, Africa and the Caribbean.

Central to the exhibit is the Encyclopedia of Invisibility (2018). The product of an ongoing research project, it features 17,000 entries detailing figures forgotten by history. Iterative of traditional encyclopaedias, the expansive contents are codified within an enormous, leather-bound tome, a testament to the exhibition’s giant-sized scale. Viewers are invited to scan some of these texts within the accompanying wall-to-wall installation, many animated by vivid images. Several bodies of work are showcased throughout, remapping lost historical connections to traditional African cultures. Distant Relatives (2020) pairs tribal masks from different regions of Africa and Papa New Guinea alongside busts of Black cultural icons, including James Baldwin (1924-1987) and Nina Simone (1933-2003). Intergalactic Palace (2024) builds on this with a nine-metre-wide hut inspired by the ancient Kingdom of Buganda, located in modern Uganda. Sound and light reverberate throughout, and at the centre stands a music console adorned with figures of musicians past.

You Belong Here provides the title for Southbank Centre’s wider multi-artform programme that explores the notion of welcome and belonging. Hayward Gallery Director Ralph Rugoff states: “Tavares’ exhibition offers revelatory lessons that profoundly shift our view of the world […] an invitation to dig deeper and explore what lies beyond what we already know.” A selection of early works pinpoint this ambition in relation to the artist’s activities as an explorer. Whether it’s an expedition to the Arctic or launching into orbit a gold sculpture of the first Black American astronaut, the collection forms an alternative cosmos made up of new designs, relics from histories yet to materialise – symbols from a great beyond.

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The Hayward Gallery, Tavares Strachan: There is Light Somewhere | Until 1 September

 southbankcentre.co.uk

Words: Kyle Boulton

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Image Credits:

1. Tavares Strachan, You Belong Here, Prospect 3 New Orleans, 2014. (Installation view from Prospect 3 Biennale, New Orleans, LA). Blocked out neon travelling installation on the Mississippi River. 30 ft x 80 ft on 100-ft barge. Courtesy of the artist, photo & video by Joe Vincent Grey.
2. Tavares Strachan, Robert, 2018. Blue neon, purple neon, Pyrex, transformers, MDF box. 64 H × 17 D × 17 W in. 58th International Art Exhibition – La Biennale di Venezia, May You Live in Interesting Times. Courtesy of the artist, photo and video by Andrea D’altoè Neonlauro.
3. Tavares Strachan, Seated Panchen Lama, 2011. Pyrex figure, mineral oil, Acrylic. 34.5 H x 34.5 L  x 22.5 in W. 87.63 H x 87.63 L x 57.15 W cm. Courtesy of the artist and the Frye Art Museum, photo: Mark Woods.
4. Tavares Strachan, You Belong Here, Prospect 3 New Orleans, 2014. (Installation view from Prospect 3 Biennale, New Orleans, LA). Blocked out neon travelling installation on the Mississippi River. 30 ft x 80 ft on 100-ft barge. Courtesy of the artist, photo & video by Joe Vincent Grey.