Stories of Black Britishness by Lubaina Himid

Politics and Art

Representation and identity are underlying themes in Himid’s practice which involves painting, collages, installations, and interventions. In an interview for Katy Hessel’s The Great Women Artists podcast, she speaks about how her work is infused with layers of meaning and the intention of changing the object’s function when painting over them, highlighting their history. 

Himid declares herself “a painter and a cultural activist” therefore giving voice to the stories of black people that were usually represented as background characters in a scene but never as protagonists. Through her work, she draws attention to the contributions of racialized and colonized populations to history, particularly in the United Kingdom.