Notes on a City: Liverpool

Jayden Ali discusses the city of Liverpool in the wake of its 2021 biennial, from its history as a slave port, through the violence of WWII and the Hillsborough disaster, and on to a hopeful possible future.

“Liverpool owes its wealth to its geography, the deep waters of the River Mersey prompting the building of docks in the 18th and 19th century that connected the city to the world and its treasures. But Liverpool owes the fortune that flowed through it to slavery, its docks playing a central role in the transatlantic slave trade, servicing the vessels that captured Africans and ferried them across the hellish Atlantic. While the docks superficially facilitated trade built on the back of people buying and selling goods, in reality, it was built on the back of people who themselves were bought and sold.

Liverpool’s genesis is one of bondage and bloodshed. The resonant tone of the city is red. […]

In stark contrast to the past exchange of goods, art and culture are now the commodities. A plan to redevelop Liverpool’s docks and expand its International Slavery Museum offers a chance to channel the city’s resilient spirit, founded upon historic injustice and contemporary challenge, into buildings that dominate the space. When defining Liverpool’s collective horror and hope, the work found in the city’s museums, stadiums and streets holds clues. When settling on a colour, red will do.”

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Read the full article in Elephant #46 – Autumn/Winter 2021 available to purchase here