Maitha AlSuwaidi and Rebecca Korang.
Our current exhibition, on Black poppies (& Other seeds), is the culmination of our Artist in Residence Rebecca Pokua Korang's residency. Responding to the theme of 'Radical Joy,' Korang centres the stories of Black soldiers in the Second World War, in particular the Tirailleurs Sénégalais, colonial troops recruited by the French from their West African colonies, and soldiers recruited by the British from East and West Africa to fight against the Japanese as part of the Burma Campaign.
The exhibition follows artistic and material explorations of Korang’s archive of photographs sourced from eBay. Taken from and through the oppressive colonial gaze, the original images are ridden with what Black feminist theorist Tina Campt describes as “technologies of capture”. The photos have lost their provenance by being sold and purchased online, yet Korang honours the joy and resistance that seeps through the interstices of the records. This body of work is a reminder that such ‘invisible histories’ are made invisible. The photos are interwoven with mediums including textile, weaving, painting and videography.
The artworks invite us to think about the politics of memory and commemoration. Commemorative bouquets of flowers made up of black poppy, lavender, and cotton stems are found throughout the exhibition space, a reclamation of ancestors and Black lives that are lost or long forgotten. Black poppies specifically commemorate the contribution of Black communities to the war effort, in the same vein as the red poppy, a more well-established emblem of British commemoration culture. These flowers are also a symbol of resilience even after the wilting of things, and a metaphor for solidarities inevitably intertwining across historical and contemporary liberation movements.
Burma Boys.
Korang’s work weaves a thread from histories of the Second World War, independence movements and the Cold War era, all the way to current injustices that are both global in resonance and local to the artist and her lived experience as a Black German. This exhibition is a culmination of multiple and intertwined threads; bridging the personal with historical, embodied, and situated explorations.
Korang insists that Radical Joy is not just an expression, but an embodied and a collective practice, spanning generations and geographies. It is present in music, in dance, in laughter, and in holding grief alongside joy. It is something to live by and to nurture.
We warmly welcome everyone to visit the exhibition. Please get in touch with us to arrange a time to visit by emailing communications@rhodeshouse.ox.ac.uk .
Rebecca Korang introducing her exhibition.
When Colours Meet.
Verwoben & Vergessen (Entangled.)
Verwoben & Vergessen (Entangled.)
Floating Garden
Valéria Nascimento
In the vaulted main hall at Rhodes House, where Scholars have met for decades, Valéria has suspended thousands of pieces of porcelain representing botanical elements from Rhodes Scholarship constituencies around the world.
Valéria Nascimento is a Brazilian-born contemporary porcelain artist celebrated for her intricate and delicate porcelain sculptures and installations. Nascimento's works often explore the delicate beauty and fragility of nature, drawing inspiration from flora, fauna, and geological formations. She is renowned for her mastery of porcelain techniques.
Floating Garden has been commissioned for the apse of the main hall in Rhodes House. This area was always intended for a hanging sculpture by the architect, Sir Herbert Baker, but until now, that intention had not been realised. Consisting of over 10,000 handmade pieces of porcelain, hanging on 1000 transparent lines, to give the sensation of ‘floating’, the work has been conceived in dialogue with the Rhodes House Head Gardener, Neil Wigfield.
Conceived on the one hand to connect the interior architecture to the external garden of Rhodes, House, Floating Garden at its core, is a representation of the diversity of the Rhodes Trust scholarship community through the biodiversity of the geographic regions which form its selection constituencies and their national flowers. A collaborative artwork at its heart, it represents also the collaborative relationship between nations.
"I was honoured to be commissioned to create a permanent large scale installation to mark 120 years of Rhodes Scholarships. Following the progressive vision of the Rhodes Trust to transform the space for its community to gather and connect, I created a piece that reflects on nature as a fundamental uniting force. With my ‘Floating Garden’ I aim to conceive a metaphor that through its botanical and ethereal presence connects people, countries and Scholars."
Living with the legacy of Cecil John Rhodes
Professor Shadreck Chirikure
This exhibition is a response to the question: “Cecil John Rhodes: Hero, Villain, Ruthless Exploiter or Unjustly Accused?"
In this exhibition Professor Chirikure reflects through his own photography on some of the conversations he has had with the Rhodes Trust’s Legacy, Equity and Inclusion working groups, and how we think about the turbulent legacy of Cecil Rhodes. This is the first in a series of planned artistic responses to the themes of the Trust’s history and legacy, exploring the impact of extraction in relation to people and nature, and how we might learn from past mistakes, and work towards a decolonised future.
"How can we live with, and amidst, the legacy of Cecil John Rhodes? Should that even be a question? Going to South Africa as a poorly teenager, Mr Rhodes became one of the most influential and richest entrepreneurs on earth.
"His ruthless political ambition and fortune enabled him to expand British imperial interests. Rhodes’ British South Africa Company colonised large parts of southern Africa: Southern Rhodesia (Zimbabwe), northern Rhodesia (Zambia) and Nyasaland (Malawi).
"The two Rhodesias were named after Mr Rhodes, who was also the Premier of the Cape Colony in South Africa. Wars were fought, lands were appropriated, enterprises were built on worker exploitation, extractive industries paid no attention to environmental issues and Cecil John Rhodes’ wealth substantially increased.
"When Rhodes died, he donated large sums of money to philanthropic causes. The Rhodes Trust was born in 1903 and is based at Rhodes House, Oxford. It has been responsible for the education of many people across the world.
"Initially discriminating against women, the Rhodes Trust later became inclusive. The Rhodes Must Fall movement which began in 2015 at the University of Cape Town raised fundamental legacy issues about the Trust and Mr Rhodes himself.
"How can the Rhodes Trust engage with issues of equity and redress? How can reparative actions benefit southern African communities and the environment? How can legacy issues be mobilised to forge a common, equitable, and just future for all?
"The photographs in this exhibition challenge us to think about these issues, reflecting on the positive and the negative, forcing us to think about how we can make the world a ‘more just place’?"
Previous Exhibitions
Entangled, Various Artists
Our previous exhibition, 'Entangled,' took an intimate look at how artists in South Africa, Namibia and Zimbabwe grappled with colonial legacies, their material manifestations and visual symbolism.
Çiknia jonë: Our Girlhood, Elena Gallina
Elena Gallina is the Rhodes Trust’s first Artist in Residence. In her exhibition ‘Çiknia jonë: Our Girlhood,’ Gallina examines the Kosovar practice of collecting and trading paper napkins.
I Am Because We Are, Nicola Green
‘I Am Because We Are’ by contemporary artist Nicola Green celebrates the lives, heritage, and accomplishments of ten Scholars and Fellows from the Rhodes Trust community.
The World Reimagined, Various Artists
18 globes were on display in the gardens of Rhodes House during Summer 2023. The globes shine an unflinching light on challenging parts of our collective history.