Life Between Islands: Caribbean-British Art 1950s-Now

Colourful and interesting exhibition at Tate Britain looking the relationship between the Caribbean and Britain in art since the 1950s.

Most of the artists in this show were born in the Caribbean and came to Britain either as adults or children or whose parents settled here. The narrative of the show was a bit confused between the art and the history of the period but it is a big story to tell.

I was quite impressed by how many of the artists I recognised including Lisa Brice, who I show here, who has cropped up in a number of exhibitions recently and who I like. There was a good mix of paintings, sculpture, videos and installation art. I also came away with lots of new artists to look out for whose context I will understand better.

My favourite piece was a recreation of a 1970s West Indian English front room by Michael McMillin. In many ways it was similar to my own grandma’s, it certainly had the same busy carpet, but it was also subtly different. I particularly enjoyed the reaction of two sisters who were in there with me reminiscing about their childhoods.

Closed 3 April 2022

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