Free display Kensington + Chelsea Art Week
Homage to Carnival
Enjoy a temporary sculptural installation by artist Sokari Douglas Camp as part of Kensington and Chelsea Art Week's 2022 Public Art Trail.
Artist Sokari Douglas Camp CBE has created two new sculptures to display in front of The Design Museum, where her work once stood when it was the Commonwealth Institute, which previously occupied our building before it was renovated.
Her sculpture, two dancers tussling with headdresses decorated with logos of tea companies, twisting a flag between them dressed as John Canoe characters is an expression of festivities with layers of history. While the Notting Hill Carnival has been cancelled for the past two years because of the pandemic, the vital energy of these dancing figures looks forward to a time – soon to come – when the joyful revels return, and the entire community unites in celebrating together again our collective powers of resilience.
To have an example of Carnival parked on Kensington High Street or any other street where vehicles can park provides an unexpected moment for people to savour.
No pre-booking is needed to see this free display.
Sokari was born in Nigeria. She studied fine art at Central School of Art and Design and the Royal College of Art. She has represented Britain and Nigeria in National exhibitions and has had more than 40 solo shows worldwide. Sokari works intuitively and on her own, she draws ideas and works on the scale suggested by her drawings. She is interested in movement, clothing, Kalabari culture, theatre and the environment.
Image: Sokari Douglas Camp's 'Sugar Cane John Canoe' photographed by Jonathan Greet, courtesy of the Artist and October Gallery, London.
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