Where: South London Gallery, London
Pictures Allowed: Yes
Kid Friendly: Yes
Open: Tuesday - Sunday 10.00 -18.00
Price: Free admission
If you know the beginning, the end is no trouble is the first UK exhibition by Russian-Ghanian artist Liz Johnson Artur. The exhibition incorporates sculptural work and photography from her archives, documenting the lives of people from the African diaspora.
For over three decades Artur has documented black lives of those across Europe, America, Africa and the Carribean. She named the ongoing project Black Balloon Archive, alluding to a 1970 song lyric by Syl Johnson that describes a black balloon ‘dancing’ in the sky.
The Black Balloon Archive started from Artur's very personal desire to connect with people. She sees the work as characterising a perspective that is ‘missing when it comes to representing and occupying common ground’.
The exhibition space contains four hanging and floor-based bamboo structures, hosting a body of images shot exclusively on film - printed at various sizes and materials, defying traditional photographic techniques. The exhibition focuses on London, where Artur has lives since the 90s, capturing the richness and complexity of Black British life.
Words: Maggie Ibiam
Liz Johnson Artur, taken from the Black Balloon Archive