JM Turner with Lamin Fofana : Dark Waters

Experience the power of the sea through paintings, sketches and an immersive sound environment at the Tate Liverpool, UK

J.M.W. Turner, Snow Storm - Steam-Boat off a Harbour's Mouth Exhibited 1842

Many Thanks to Mike Strong for alerting SWS to this exhibition. Most of you will know who JM Turner was, but the name Lamin Fofana may be less familiar. Fofana spent most of his early childhood in Freetown, Sierra Leone until the civil war of the 1990s forced his family to flee to Guinea. When he was just a teenager, his family relocated once more to the United States where he split his time between Harlem, New York and Alexandria, Virginia. This move to the west and its inherent unfamiliarities shaped his understanding of the world at an impressionable age, pushing him to explore more experimental forms of artistic expression to give voice to his experiences and those of people like him. The artist’s eclectic music is also greatly influenced by the diverse musical styles he was exposed to as he moved from one location to the next.

Mike writes of the exhibition that he visited a few weeks ago…

The music/sounds tried to convey some of the feelings of loss, loneliness and danger of the sea and slave ships.

The Tate gallery’s own commentary is a little more “artspeak”

Although creating work centuries apart, both artists convey the power and politics of the ocean and explore its relationship to capitalism and colonialism. Turner’s paintings focus on the dangers of the waters around the British coast and Fofana’s sound work looks across the Atlantic.

Tate Liverpool’s location on the waterfront, combined with Liverpool’s maritime history, provides the perfect context for us to consider Turner afresh. The exhibition features some of Turner’s most celebrated seascapes alongside his sketchbooks and works on paper.

Lamin Fofana translates the writing of pioneering black authors into sound. Fofana’s work explores questions of movement, migration, alienation and belonging.

The exhibition is on at Tate Liverpool, Royal Albert Dock Liverpool until 4 June 2023

You can hear examples of Fofana’s soundscapes HERE