AUBREY WILLIAMS: ATLANTIC FIRE

Aubrey Williams: Atlantic Fire by Leon Wainwright is now available to read in full at the Black Atlantic Resource:

The paintings of Aubrey Williams are islands of fire that have scorched their way across a range of different stories of art. One story is about the evolution of British painting in the twentieth century. Another is a story about the way in which Caribbean people have struggled and pressed for their freedom and sparked with modern creativity. Yet another story has passages on Britain and Guyana, Jamaica, South America, and the United States, pulling in all those settings around the Atlantic where Aubrey Williams lived and worked, and where he exhibited his art. It is a story about how Williams had an ability to be in several places at once in the history of art. Williams’ legacy is framed within a brilliant composite of narratives; and there his art works have remained, smouldering continually, their heat slowly building. His life story and his art cannot be located in a simple geography, either physical or cultural. Williams painted with fire, and the path that he cut is a hard one to follow…

To view the full article at the Black Atlantic Resource now click here

To view Aubrey Williams’ artist page at the October Gallery, with images exhibited at the Atlantic Fire exhibition click here

Leon Wainwright, ‘Aubrey Williams: Atlantic Fire’, in Reyahn King ed., 2010 Aubrey Williams: Atlantic Fire National Museums Liverpool and October Gallery, London, pp. 46-55. ISBN: 978-1-899542-30-7. Exhibition catalogue essay. Republished here with permission of the Walker Art Gallery, Liverpool and The October Gallery, London.

New Publication: Mapping Latin America: A Cartographic Reader

Edited by Jordana Dym and Karl Offen
University of Chicago Press

From announcing the conquest of an Aztec empire to challenging the decision to put North America and Europe at the top of the world, maps and mapmakers have contributed to the creation of Latin America. In Mapping Latin America, leading scholars from several disciplines interpret over one hundred full-color maps made from within or representing the Americas since 1492. This unprecedented and engaging volume highlights maps and mapmaking traditions by a variety of mapmakers‹from the hand-drawn maps of Native Americans, to those by colonial scribes and European cosmographers, to those by theodolite-wielding surveyors. By demonstrating the many ways maps present and communicate information, and by explaining how and why maps are made, how people have read, interpreted and used them, and how map silences often speak volumes, this inclusive collection promotes a cartographic literacy and inspires a long-lasting curiosity about how maps work, what it all means for Latin Americans today, and why we should care.

For more information click here

Black Salt: Early Black Sailors and Nelson’s Navy

Dr Ray Costello’s forthcoming talk at the International Slavery Museum, Liverpool, on Friday 21 October 2011: “Black Salt: Early Black Sailors and Nelson’s navy. A talk on the experience of seamen of African descent in Nelson’s Royal navy”.

Places are limited – for more events details click here