Lubaina Himid, The Architects (2024). Acrylic on found drawer. 84 x 177 x 73.5 cm. © Lubaina Himid. Courtesy the artist and Hollybush Gardens, London. Photo: Eva Herzog Studio.
Exhibition View: Lubaina Himid, Barricades, Hollybush Gardens, London (1 November–20 December 2024). © Lubaina Himid. Courtesy the artist and Hollybush Gardens, London. Photo: Eva Herzog Studio.
Lubaina Himid, Men in Drawers for Throwing Things II (2024). Acrylic on found drawer. 61.9 x 27.6 x 11 cm. © Lubaina Himid. Courtesy Hollybush Gardens, London. Photo: Andy Keate.
Lubaina Himid, The Greendales Bird Sellers (2024). Acrylic on found doors, pastel on linen. 183.5 x 148 x 3 cm. © Lubaina Himid. Courtesy the artist and Hollybush Gardens, London. Photo: Eva Herzog Studio.
Lubaina Himid‘s latest exhibition at Hollybush Gardens in London is an invitation to engage with the historical narratives she seeks to reclaim.
‘Many artists are painting ourselves back into the history that we knew we belonged to, to fill those gaps,’ Himid told Ocula earlier this year.
Barricades (1 November–20 December 2024) features overpainted objects and furniture parts, with highlights including works from the artist’s ‘Men in Drawers’ series (2014–ongoing). Here, Himid paints portraits of Black figures on the insides of found and discarded wooden drawers, transforming them into vessels that hold memories of forgotten lives.
Himid believes in the storytelling power of everyday objects, describing drawers as ‘the epitome of the chance encounter’. Her paintings commemorate lives only sometimes revealed, and encourage viewers to reflect on unseen histories.
In Men in Drawers for Throwing Things II (2024), a portrait of a stern-faced, suited man wraps around a bold, orange vase, while a shuttlecock above suggests a readiness to break from restraint.
Barricades coincides with Himid’s presentation at the Flag Art Foundation in New York, Make Do and Mend, which is on view until 8 February 2025.
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