- Venue
- Staffordshire St
- Starts
- Friday, November 11, 2022
- Ends
- Sunday, November 27, 2022
- Address
- 49 Staffordshire Street London SE15 5TJ
- Location
- London
- Organiser
- Staffordshire St
Unattributable Briefs: Act One features paintings, drawings and archival reproductions from The National Archives. The works are a part of Loewe’s practice-based PhD research, using recently declassified records from the Foreign & Commonwealth Office as source material. This body of research interrogates the role that the British government took in suppressing Caribbean Black Power at this critical moment for Independence.
Bermuda and Trinidad occupy distinctly different positions in this history – Trinidad having gained independence in 1962, whereas Bermuda continues to be a British Territory to this day.
One series included in the exhibition is The Old Devonshire Church Fire, Bermuda, twelve paintings on paper exploring an arson attack in 1970. The church in question was rebuilt twice during Britain’s colonial rule, bringing into question whose labour was used to do this. History told from a position of power makes it possible to view acts of resistance as moments of violent individualism or mindless destruction. The series reiterates that at many points in history fire has been the only viable tool of dissent for black people.
Unattributable Briefs: Act One focuses on the actions taken by Caribbean Black Power activists striving for self-determination. This will be followed by Unattributable Briefs: Act Two in 2023 at Orleans House Gallery. The second iteration highlights the operations that the British government took against Caribbean activists, such as unattributable propaganda.
Rudy Loewe is a visual artist who uses painting and drawing to address black histories, Caribbean folklore and gender & sexuality. Their practice interrogates what has become truth in the collective memory, envisaging alternate futures that centre black queer and trans experience.
Loewe’s approach to painting speaks to their background in comics and illustration, combining text with image and sequential narrative. Bold and colourful acrylic is used in the works to juxtapose the voices of black resistance with that of the British state. The works call into question the dominant retelling of independence from the British Empire and its lasting legacies.
Rudy Loewe graduated in 2018 with an MFA from Konstfack, Sweden, receiving the Rektor Stavenowska award for academic excellence. They received the Arbetstipendium from the Swedish Arts Council in 2019 to continue researching British and Swedish colonial legacies. In 2020 Loewe was Artist In Residence at The Serpentine Gallery. Loewe began their practice-based PhD at the University of the Arts London in 2021. Recent exhibitions include New Contemporaries, Humber Street Gallery & South London Gallery; Back to Earth, Serpentine Gallery; NAE Open 22, New Art Exchange; The Summer Exhibition, Royal Academy. Loewe has been a member of several collectives: Brown Island (Sweden), Collective Creativity (UK) and Grounding Future(s) (Sweden).
For further information please contact: [email protected]
Accessibility
There is step free access to the building via the door to the left of the main entrance. There is a wheelchair accessible toilet available. Face masks are encouraged when visiting the gallery.
This exhibition is supported by the National Lottery through Arts Council England.
