Between Two Worlds: Vanley Burke and Francis Williams

Fascinating exhibition at the Victoria and Albert Museum looking at portraits of  two Jamaican gentlemen scholars who lived nearly 300 years apart.

There was a room devoted to each figure, putting them in context, and discussing their lives. This was a great way of contrasting but linking different lives.

I started with the room on contemporary photographer, Vanley Burke, whose portrait was a self-portrait taken this year. Burke has recorded black lives via his photography and the artefacts he has collected relating to the black presence in Britain. The photographs and objects were shown together and created a picture of life in this country since the 1950s.

It was interesting to then contrast this to the life of Francis Williams, a free born black Jamaican who was educated in England then returned to the island to manage the family estates. The portrait is quite naïve but beautiful and full of objects. It may be a self-portrait. I was interested to see that the globe to the left showed the Atlantic Ocean, the heart of the Slave Trade routes.

Closed 31 December 2023


 

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