Trophies of Empire. New Artist Commissions and Exhibitions. August 1992 – January 1993
‘Trophies of Empire’ was organised across the English port cities of Liverpool, Bristol and Hull, each having a particular historical connection to the Atlantic Slave Trade. The project took place during the Quincentenary of Columbus’s arrival in the ‘New World’ in 1492. ‘Trophies of Empire’ invited sixteen artists and artist collectives to create new site-specific works reflecting on these cities and the historical significance of the year 1992.
Based on an initial proposal by Keith Piper, the show was curated by Bryan Biggs and staged at the Bluecoat Gallery, Liverpool, Arnolfini, Bristol and Hull Time Based Arts in association with Ferens Art Gallery, Wilberforce House Museum, Moviola and Merseyside Maritime Museum.
Taking place between August 1992 and January 1993, the project featured work by Paul Clarkson, Carole Drake, Nina Edge, Edwina Fitzpatrick, Sunil Gupta, Bandele Iyapo, Rita Keegan, Juginder Lamba, Shaheen Merali, Keith Piper, Donald Rodney, South Atlantic Souvenirs, Veena Stephenson, Trouble, Verbal Images and Visual Stress..
Exhibiton Publication
Published in 1994 by Bluecoat Gallery and Liverpool John Moores University School of Design & Visual Arts in collaboration with Arnolfini, Bristol and Hull Time Based Arts.
Featuring texts by Bryan Biggs, Keith Piper, Jayne Tyler, Gilane Tawadros, Katherine Wood, Tessa Jackson and the exhibiting artists.
Design by Western Values.
Bluecoat ISBN 0 9533941 0 9
Arnolfini ISBN 0 907738 38 9
LJM University ISBN 0 9523161 1 0