The selection of works spans nearly half a century of vividly poignant creations, showing the diversity of her approach with painting, sound installations, found objects, canvases, and cut-outs. Key works include A Fashionable Marriage (1986), Naming the Money (2004), the “Plan B” series, and a recent series of paintings focused on street sellers. A pivotal figure in the British Black Arts Movement of the 1980s, Himid has been reconstructing and reimagining Black experiences and histories to challenge dominant historical narratives ever since. This exhibition is curated by UCCA Curator Luan Shixuan and organized on the occasion of the Maria Lassnig Prize awarded to Lubaina Himid in 2023.

“Lubaina Himid” brings together 19 groups and pieces of the artist’s key works created between the 1980s and the present, delving into the artist’s innovative exploration of Black experiences, histories, and identities of the African diaspora through multidimensional artworks. Trained in theater design and with a longstanding interest in materiality and performativity, Himid’s utilization of diverse mediums in layered storytelling, challenging traditional notions of artistic mediums, also stands as a unique approach to challenging mainstream perspectives of history and enduring socio-political obstacles faced by communities of African heritage. Her works, drawing on a rich variety of symbolic languages and cultural motifs, evoke the performative aspects of theatrical stages. Life-sized cut-out figures, overpainted everyday objects, sound works made in collaboration with Magda Stawarska, and audio elements create stronger spatial engagement.

Also highlighted in this exhibition is Himid’s innovative practice of painting over found objects, a method the artist uses to reconstruct narratives in Black history. Works such as Swallow Hard: The Lancaster Dinner Service (2007) transform colonial-era porcelain tableware, often used among the upper-class, into miniature monuments of remembrance for forgotten Black voices, layering historical echoes with her artistic reinterpretations. In the “Feast Wagon” series, the pushcarts are inserted into the scene like stage props for the audience to walk around, symbolizing migration and memory.

From the “Plan B” series to works like Tide Change (1998), the ocean is woven in as an element of duality: trauma and transformation. Bridging the past and present in the context of the transoceanic slave trade, the ocean in these works embody cultural and historical collision, and the resulting trauma and resilience in displacement.

Pieces like Six Tailors (2019) and Close Up – Materials for Change (2019) explore the collaborative and material aspects of craftsmanship, while installations like Blue Grid Test (2020) expand on the narrative potential of patterns and language, combining visual elements with soundscapes. In this installation, decorative motifs and the repeated word “blue” in multiple languages evoke connections between cultural histories and emotional resonances, further emphasizing the universality of shared experiences and perspective.

In Himid’s portraiture, the works are often seemingly inspired by historical moments, with her reimagined portraits challenging and expanding the canon of traditional Western art by centring Black figures as protagonists with complex, autonomous narratives. In works like Five Conversations (2019), fashionably-dressed Black women stand poised and ready to engage, claiming their presence.

Throughout her career of nearly five decades, Lubaina Himid has become increasingly influential in the contemporary art with her compelling works that address enduring societal themes while fostering dialogue about history, identity, and resilience. The exhibition “Lubaina Himid” is a profound opportunity to engage with the pioneering artist’s rich and multifaceted oeuvre and her powerful yet nuanced artistic voice in disrupting so-called established narratives that transcend mere representation.