A Fashionable Marriage: Castrato/Krytyk

Location

Country: United Arab Emirates
City: Abu Dhabi
Place: British Embassy

Marking her first major print project, Lubaina Himid’s 24 hand-painted screen-prints were made in collaboration with master printer Magda Stawarska. Both prints in the Collection feature enlarged details from engravings by the 18th-century British satirical painter and engraverWilliam Hogarth. Himid twists Hogarth’s scenes of folly and frivolity into swirling, spirited and multi-layered collages of overlaid elements, characterised by Himid’s distinctive bold patterns and vibrant colours. Himid’s politically critical artistic practice is steeped in historical investigation and enquiry, engaging often with the tradition of history painting in the Western canon and with the frequently exploitative histories of textile trade. She has spoken about how Hogarth's engravings, theatrical painting series and his work with the Foundling hospital have influenced her practice for over 40 years. In Castrato/Krytyk (1), the image’s subject, presumably a castrato or male singer castrated before puberty to keep their quality of voice – a practice in existence before the 20th century – is immersed in a book and presented in partial view with a series of rich stripes painted over his middle. The idea of this scene portraying a fashionable marriage carries a particular resonance in today’s era where ideas of gender are publically in play.

Born in Zanzibar, Lubaina Himid moved to the UK as a child, where she studied Theatre Design at Wimbledon College of Art and Cultural History at the Royal College of Art, London. For over 40 years, she has actively encouraged the promotion and support of the Black Arts Movement, particularly work by women. In the 1980s and ‘90s, she curated a number of important group exhibitions including ‘The Thin Black Line' (ICA, 1985) and 'Unrecorded Truths' (Elbow Room, 1986). Himid currently lives and works in Preston and is Professor of Contemporary Art at the University of Central Lancashire. She is the winner of the 2017 Turner Prize. A major monographic exhibition of her work was held at Tate Modern (2021-2022).Other solo exhibitions of her work have been held at Sharjah Art Foundation UAE (2023); Muse?e cantonal des Beaux-Arts de Lausanne (2022); Tate Britain, London; Frans Hals Museum, Haarlem, The Netherlands ; and New Museum, New York (all 2019). Her work is held in various key museum collections around the world.

Places

Subjects

Materials & Techniques

Artist

Lubaina Himid (1954 - )

Title

A Fashionable Marriage: Castrato/Krytyk

Date

2022

Medium

Screenprint

Dimensions

height: 75.9cm; width: 102.3cm

Acquisition

Purchased from Cristea Roberts Gallery, August 2023

Provenance

Cristea Roberts Gallery, London UK; from whom purchased by UK Government Art Collection, 14 August 2023

GAC number

19202