#commemmoration of forgotten figure

[sexypinkon]

Today,emancipation day here in Trinidad and Tobago is a timely occasion to announce a significant commission I was chosen to be part of earlier this year.The St James’s Church Piccadilly, London has commissioned me to create  four new paintings which will be installed permanently at the entrance of the church.The commission marks the 250th anniversary of the baptism of Quobna Ottobah Cugoano, a prominent abolitionist of the time and a significant figure in the history of Britain. He was baptised at the church, on 20th August 1773.The fist thing that struck me is that I knew nothing about Cugoano and his life and work as major abolitionist. 

That in itself speaks volumes about how history has been told.I am humbled to discover who he was and more than honoured to be chosen to commemorate his life and what he stood for.This will be the first permanent art commission to commemorate Cugoano’s life anywhere in the world.Ottobah Cugoano was born around 1757 in that part of west Africa now known as Ghana. At the age of 13, he was kidnapped by slave traders before being shipped to the West Indies. Cugoano was sold to a plantation owner in Grenada. In 1772 He was bought by an English merchant and brought to the UK, gaining his freedom that same year.Cugoano was very active in the ‘Sons of Africa’ group which condemned the practice of slavery and campaigned for its abolition. They lobbied public figures and wrote regularly to the newspapers. Cugoano became a forthright critic of slavery and his influential book, ‘Thoughts and Sentiments on the Evil of Slavery’ (1787) is still in print today.“ 

Lovelace’s work not only connects with the geographies and legacies of the abhorrent Transatlantic slave trade but also evokes an honest, lyrical, sun-filled exaltation of what a vibrant future with open acknowledgement of these histories might look like. Thinking through what the act of Baptism means in theological terms, there is a sense of emerging out of water into a new tomorrow that the paintings capture.“The unveiling ceremony for the event will be held on September 20th 2023.