Talks

Gallery Talk Series: Curated by Zak Ové

14 & 21 Aug 2019
13.00 - 13.30
Free with exhibition entry
West Wing Galleries
West Wing

Gallery talks led by selected exhibitors representing black excellence and experience from authentic voices across mediums.

Each exhibitor will speak about their artwork, practice, anecdotes, journey, discipline and intergenerational influence.

WED 14 AUG 2019, 13.00 - 13.30 | GAIKA

Hear of Gaika’s explorations in making the exhibit Heaters 4 the 2 Seaters, an installation that considers today’s economic and geopolitical climate from a subversive and satirical perspective.

GAIKA, born Gaika Tavares, is a musician known for his futuristic beats and conceptual art. Born in London to parents from Grenada and Jamaica, he has forged a solo career as one of the leading voices in British rap. GAIKA has released two independent mixtapes—Machine and Security—as well as a Warp Records-released EP, Spaghetto and a series of releases on his own concept label The Spectacular Empire. His album Basic Volume came out to critical acclaim in 2018. His installation SYSTEM at Somerset House told the history of sound system culture and challenged the media perception of carnival by showcasing stories, characters, statistics and the under-celebrated sound system culture of Carnival and beyond. GAIKA is the Political Editor at large for Dazed & Confused magazine and a Somerset House Studios resident artist.

WED 21 AUG 2019, 13.00 - 13.30 | CHARLIE PHILLIPS

Learn more of Phillips’ photographs documenting the people local to him, each addressing the social and political issues of the late 1960s. In One of the first Notting Hill ‘street’ carnivals, numerous figures spill out of Phillips’ frame, alluding to the magnitude of the gathering.

Ronald ‘Charlie’ Phillips is a restaurateur, photographer and documenter of Black London. He is now best known for his photographs of London’s Notting Hill during the period of West Indian migration to the city. His subject matter has also included film stars and student protests, with his photographs appearing in Stern, Harper’s Bazaar, Life and Vogue and in Italian and Swiss journals.

Phillips came with his family to Notting Hill in 1956 and as a young man travelled all over Europe. During the 1980s, he took photographs documenting West Indian funerals at Kensal Green Cemetery and other cemeteries in London.

In recent years his work has been appreciated in numerous high-profile exhibitions at prestigious venues such as the Museum of London, Tate Britain, the V&A and Photofusion Gallery.