Larry Achiampong (born 1984) is a
British Ghanaian artist whose work includes moving image; sculptural installation; photographic and painted collage; audio and visual archives; live performance; spoken word; recorded sound bytes and composed scores. Recurring themes within these works often explore postcolonial themes and the idea of a post-human existence.
He is known for his major public commissions for
Somerset House
Somerset House is a large neoclassical architecture, neoclassical building complex situated on the south side of the Strand, London, Strand in central London, overlooking the River Thames, just east of Waterloo Bridge. The Georgian era quadran ...
and
Transport for London
Transport for London (TfL) is a local government body responsible for most of the transport network in London, United Kingdom.
TfL is the successor organization of the London Passenger Transport Board, which was established in 1933, and His ...
.
Both works focus on
Pan-African
Pan-Africanism is a nationalist movement that aims to encourage and strengthen bonds of solidarity between all indigenous peoples and diasporas of African ancestry. Based on a common goal dating back to the Atlantic slave trade, the Trans-Sa ...
histories and futures with a thematic focus on the ideas of Pan-Africanism in the form of flags and colour representation. He is currently represented by Copperfield Gallery,
London
London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...
.
Selected solo shows
*2016: ''Larry Achiampong: OPEN SEASON'' (Logan Center, University of Chicago, Chicago)
* 2020: ''When the Sky Falls'' (
John Hansard Gallery, Southampton)
* 2022: ''Wayfinder'' (
Turner Contemporary
Turner Contemporary is an art gallery in Margate, Kent, England, intended as a contemporary arts space and catalyst for the regeneration of the town. The title commemorates the association of the town with noted landscape painter J. M. W. Turne ...
)
Public commissions
* 2017: ''PAN AFRICAN FLAG FOR THE RELIC TRAVELLERS’ ALLIANCE (ASCENSION)'' – flag commission (
Somerset House
Somerset House is a large neoclassical architecture, neoclassical building complex situated on the south side of the Strand, London, Strand in central London, overlooking the River Thames, just east of Waterloo Bridge. The Georgian era quadran ...
)
* 2019–2020: ''Art on The Underground: Westminster Station Commission'' – (
Art on the Underground
Art on the Underground, previously called ''Platform for Art'', is Transport for London's (TfL) contemporary public art programme. It commissions permanent and temporary artworks for London Underground, as well as commissioning artists to create ...
/
Transport for London
Transport for London (TfL) is a local government body responsible for most of the transport network in London, United Kingdom.
TfL is the successor organization of the London Passenger Transport Board, which was established in 1933, and His ...
)
* 2022: ''Pan African Flag for the Relic Travellers’ Alliance (Union)'' – permanent rondel at Westminster Underground Station
Filmography
Feature film
Influences
''
Edge
Edge or EDGE may refer to:
Technology Computing
* Edge computing, a network load-balancing system
* Edge device, an entry point to a computer network
* Adobe Edge, a graphical development application
* Microsoft Edge, a web browser developed by ...
'' thought that his portraits of video game characters in his 2023 exhibition at
Frieze London "countered the negative stereotypes that dog Black characters" within videogames.
For example, ''Edge'' noted that his portrait depicting
John Marston
John Marston is a character in the ''Red Dead'' video game series by Rockstar Games. He is the main playable protagonist of the 2010 video game ''Red Dead Redemption'', wherein he must deal with the decline of the Wild West while being force ...
as Black "addresses the misrepresentation of cowboys in fiction" since one out of four cowboys was not white (although this is rarely presented in traditional media).
References
External links
1984 births
Living people
21st-century British male artists
Alumni of the Slade School of Fine Art
Black British artists
British contemporary artists
Black British filmmakers
British film producers
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