Wednesday 2nd - Saturday 26th October 2024
Morley Gallery, 61 Westminster Bridge Rd, London SE1 7HT
PRIVATE VIEW WEDNESDAY 2ND OCTOBER 6-9PM
ARTISTS TALK THURSDAY 17TH OCTOBER 6-8PM (BUY TICKETS)
Featuring
Armet Francis - Colin Nichols
Junior Tomlin - Ron Best
Sion Sylvester - Tobias Laurent Belson
An intergenerational exhibition of 6 West London artists of the African Caribbean diaspora, connecting artists, artworks, and life journeys.
The youngest in their mid-twenties, the eldest almost eighty, they present paintings, prints, photography, video, collage and digital works.
At the midpoint, the artists will inhabit two spaces at once, inviting their local community for a talk at the brand new sister gallery in North Kensington.
The show presents a wide range of works that provide insight into how each of their journeys as African Caribbean men in West London have influenced or shaped their artistic practice. Each has been heavily influenced by family backgrounds, local community, personal interests, wider society and varying engagement with institutions.
Similarities and differences have been explored as part of the exhibition's curation, between six male creative pracitioners who have moved amongst each other in a close community in West London for over five decades. Those who grew up as boys on Caribbean islands and those born and raised on West London streets; those who have taken academic routes and those self taught; those who have put innovative creative tools down and those who have taken up the very newest of creative tools.
Six artists come together for this event to share their journeys as creative men of the African Caribbean diaspora and invite the viewer to weave those threads together with their own journeys in mind.
ARMET FRANCIS
Armet Francis is a Jamaican-born photographer and publisher who has lived in London since the 1950s.
He has been documenting and chronicling the lives of people of the African diaspora for more than 40 years.
He became the first Black photographer to have a solo exhibition at The Photographers’ Gallery in London when The Black Triangle series was exhibited there in 1983.
He has exhibited worldwide and his work is in collections including those of the Victoria & Albert Museum and the Museum of London.
COLIN NICHOLS
Colin attended the Byam Shaw
School of Art between 1982-85,
attaining a Diploma at the end of
that time.
“I then left to continue painting
at my own leisure, without the
pressure of aiming for a goal I
couldn’t see; despite that I did
value the experience”.
Although he works with various
mediums, oils are his main
medium of choice.
In the late sixties, along with
other subjects Colin took up
wildlife painting, after seeing the
work of artist David Shepherd.
School of Art between 1982-85,
attaining a Diploma at the end of
that time.
“I then left to continue painting
at my own leisure, without the
pressure of aiming for a goal I
couldn’t see; despite that I did
value the experience”.
Although he works with various
mediums, oils are his main
medium of choice.
In the late sixties, along with
other subjects Colin took up
wildlife painting, after seeing the
work of artist David Shepherd.
JUNIOR TOMLIN
Junior Tomlin was born and
raised in Ladbroke Grove, West
London, of Jamaican parents.
He studied art at the Byam Shaw
School of Art and at Goldsmiths
college, achieving a diploma in
Art and Design.
Renowned for his stunning
rave culture and record cover
art, Tomlin’s visionary work
combines influences from
science fiction, surrealism,
fantasy, futurism and comic
books. The result is a collection
of artwork that has defined an
era and earned him the title ‘The
Salvador Dali of Rave’.
raised in Ladbroke Grove, West
London, of Jamaican parents.
He studied art at the Byam Shaw
School of Art and at Goldsmiths
college, achieving a diploma in
Art and Design.
Renowned for his stunning
rave culture and record cover
art, Tomlin’s visionary work
combines influences from
science fiction, surrealism,
fantasy, futurism and comic
books. The result is a collection
of artwork that has defined an
era and earned him the title ‘The
Salvador Dali of Rave’.
RON BEST
Ronald O’Neal Best’s art
explores the boundaries between
figuration and abstraction,
the frontiers where the
classical tradition of painting
and printmaking fuse with a
Modernist sensibility.
Best has undertaken an
extensive academic and learning
journey, as both student and
teacher.
Starting in 1975, attending Byam
Shaw School of Art, he went
on to Southwark College and
Croydon College in the 1980s
and spent two years at the RCA
by the end of that decade.
explores the boundaries between
figuration and abstraction,
the frontiers where the
classical tradition of painting
and printmaking fuse with a
Modernist sensibility.
Best has undertaken an
extensive academic and learning
journey, as both student and
teacher.
Starting in 1975, attending Byam
Shaw School of Art, he went
on to Southwark College and
Croydon College in the 1980s
and spent two years at the RCA
by the end of that decade.
SION SYLVESTER
Sion Sylvester is a Caribbean
British photographer, filmmaker,
and social activist based in
London. He brings a deep
passion for storytelling and
a sharp eye for detail to
his practice, which he uses
to capture the essence of
moments, revealing the depth of
emotions and narratives within
them.
Sylvester’s dedication to his craft
has earned him recognition in
major UK galleries, including
the Saatchi Gallery, where he
received an award, and the
Museum of London, where his
work has been exhibited.
British photographer, filmmaker,
and social activist based in
London. He brings a deep
passion for storytelling and
a sharp eye for detail to
his practice, which he uses
to capture the essence of
moments, revealing the depth of
emotions and narratives within
them.
Sylvester’s dedication to his craft
has earned him recognition in
major UK galleries, including
the Saatchi Gallery, where he
received an award, and the
Museum of London, where his
work has been exhibited.
TOBIAS LAURENT BELSON
Tobias (Toby) Laurent Belson
is a largely self-taught artist,
designer and educator. He was
born and raised and resides in
West London.
Laurent Belson’s Samplism
practice developed from 2012.
It involves an intricate hands-on
location, manipulation and
placing of images sourced
from modern print media and
archives, including his own. As
the name suggests, it is a visual
practice akin to the modern
musical traditions of the recent
African diasporas across Europe
and the US.
is a largely self-taught artist,
designer and educator. He was
born and raised and resides in
West London.
Laurent Belson’s Samplism
practice developed from 2012.
It involves an intricate hands-on
location, manipulation and
placing of images sourced
from modern print media and
archives, including his own. As
the name suggests, it is a visual
practice akin to the modern
musical traditions of the recent
African diasporas across Europe
and the US.
Morley Gallery, 61 Westminster Bridge Rd, London SE1 7HT
Curation - TLB & Ron Best
Design, Copy & Photography - TLB
Portrait photography - Sion Sylvester & Armet Francis
This event is kindly supported by
