The Time is Always Now: Artists Reframe the Black Figure
National Portrait Gallery
Date: 2024
A commitment to celebrate the universality of beauty and the restorative justice of the imagination.
Installation view of ‘The Time is Always Now: Reframing the Black Figure’ at the National Portrait Gallery, London.
Photos: Thomas Adank
The Time is Always Now: Reframing the Black Figure, presented a series of works by contemporary artists from the African diaspora that explored and illuminated the complexity of Black identity today.
JA Projects worked alongside curator Ekow Eshun to establish the exhibition’s creative direction and respond to its curatorial structure – a three-stage journey through the experience of Black representation.
The design, which centred Black artists and Black figures, exists as a chapter in the studio’s ongoing commitment to celebrate the universality of beauty and the restorative justice of the imagination.
Whether through visceral mark-making, the shadows of self-reflection, or the encouragement of collective gathering, the creative direction took its cues from artworks that seek to leave indelible impressions. In response, the design was composed as an essay on being both present and hard to shift and drafted with the hope that visitors felt empowered to reflect, rest and return.
Installation view of ‘The Time is Always Now: Reframing the Black Figure’ at the National Portrait Gallery, London.
Photos: Thomas Adank
Double Consciousness
Double Consciousness, was an exploration of the nuanced realities of being a Black person in a white world and features work by artists such as Noah Davis, Michael Armitage, Kerry James Marshall and Nathaniel Mary Quinn.
The design leant into the literal and symbolic act of mark-making, with the gallery walls bearing the gestural and imperfect application and removal of paint as a record of Black presence – referencing the force embodied in the beaten Lubugo-bark cloth of Michael Armitage, or the rewriting of history contained in Nataniel Mary Quinn's inscription of his mother’s name on his diploma.
The scenic treatment of thick textural blues were applied from floor height to the natural reach of a person’s hand, making the intervention inherently human in scale. Painted by Issi Nanabeyin (a UK artist of mixed heritage), the intervention is a performative demonstration of the inscription of Black people into the fabric of Britain.
Installation view of ‘The Time is Always Now: Reframing the Black Figure’ at the National Portrait Gallery, London.
Photos: Thomas Adank
The Persistence of history
The second section of the exhibition, The Persistence of History, addressed the absence and marginalisation of Blackness within Western Art by reorienting the visitor’s attention towards the presence of Black subjects within historical works.
Paintings and drawings by Godfried Donkor, Kimathi Donkor, Lubaina Himid, Barbara Walker and Titus Kaphar sat within a vault-like space of deep red and subtly reflective materials that interwove shadows and figures into and among the artworks.
In contrast to the previous section, the detailing of finishes in this section was purposefully precise, highlighting the contemporaneity of the artworks and the acutely focused inquiries of the artists into correcting dark chapters of history.
Installation view of ‘The Time is Always Now: Reframing the Black Figure’ at the National Portrait Gallery, London.
Photos: Thomas Adank
Our Aliveness
“When I think of the concept of our aliveness, I am drawn to how Black artists transmit it through their creative endeavours, typically placing us in the centre of their oeuvre. While this might include the more familiar tropes of trauma, oppression and suffering, it also soars above it, wide wings. Destination? The universe.”
– Bernardine Evaristo
The final section of the exhibition, Our Aliveness, showcased work that centred Black figures and the joyful kinships between them.
The interior scenes presented within the artworks, and specifically Henry Taylor's ‘Right hand, wing man, best friend, and all the above (2023), was the inspiration behind a verdant carpet that seemingly spilled out from the pictorial space into the gallery itself.
Combined with large-scale collective seating, the result was a gallery landscape that connected the figures pictured in each of the artworks, but also invited visitors to acknowledge and optimistically reflect on the connections between themselves.
“In the Time is Always Now, we have strived to create an environment which truly celebrates some of the most important and exciting artists working today, and JA Projects have been wonderful collaborators in bringing this vision to life. The exhibition’s thoughtful design perfectly complements the artwork on display, creating a space for visitors to reflect and engage with the exhibition’s themes and curation.”
– Andrew Horn, National Portrait Gallery
Core Team
Creative Direction: JA Projects
Scenic Painting Lead and Creative Consultant: Issi Nanabeyin
Credits
Curator: Ekow Eshun
Lighting Design: Studio ZNA
Graphic Design: Jahnavi Inniss
Set Build: The Whitewall Company
Particulars
Client: National Portrait Gallery