joseph scissorhands: Che Lovelace: Cugoano 250 commission

Che Lovelace - The River (detail)

"Any property taken from others, whether by stealth, fraud, or violence, must be wrong; but to take away men themselves, and keep them in slavery, must be worse." - Quobna Ottobah Cugoano

I first encountered the figurative paintings of Trinidadian artist Che Lovelace at Dulwich Picture Gallery's Soulscapes exhibition (here) earlier this year. I admired not only his colour sense, but also his compositional skills in the dynamic ways in which he divides up his picture surfaces in what appears to be almost like a modern interpretation of Cubism or Futurism. I was eager to see more, and discovered that last year he had been commissioned to create a quartet of paintings for St James's church in Piccadilly to celebrate the 250th anniversary of the baptism of former slave and writer Quobna Ottobah Cugoano in the church. St James's was designed and built by Sir Christopher Wren and is known as the artists church for its long association with artists and the Royal Academy across the way on Piccadilly. It has latterly hosted installations by artists within the church (here), the latest of which is this permanent installation by Lovelace in the narthex (antechamber). Quobna Ottobah Cugoano wrote Thoughts and Sentiments on the Evil of Slavery published in 1787, which details his being kidnapped and trafficked from what is now Ghana at about the age of thirteen to be put to work on a plantation in the Caribbean island of Grenada, and then subsequently being bought to England by a merchant before gaining his freedom in 1772. Despite winning his freedom, Cugoano still worked as a servant to the artists Richard and Maria Cosway who he is depicted with below in this Richard Cosway etching of 1784. Cugoano lived with the Cosways a short distance from St James's church at Schomberg House, 80-82 Pall Mall, which is commemorated with an English Heritage blue plaque for his anti-slavery campaigning.

Cugoano became a prominent abolitionist helping others in slavery but sadly didn't live long enough to see slavery abolished by Parliament in the UK. Although dates relating to Cugoano's life can be a little hazy, the one certain fact is that he was baptised at St James's church on 20th August 1773. The entry in the church register reads: "John Stuart – a Black, aged 16 years", which denies Cugoano his real birth name and uses the insensitive terminology of the time. There is also a plaque dedicated to Cugoano at St James's which I couldn't find on my visit, but you can see the font in which he was baptised. I have been to St James's on many occasions and have admired the wonderfully exquisite carvings of swags of foliage in the reredos behind the altar by wood carver extraordinaire Grinling Gibbons (1648-1721), but had no idea that it was Gibbons who had also carved the beautiful font at the rear of the church in which Cugoano was baptised. It features figures representing Adam and Eve at the base and contains a carving of Noah's Ark on the basin. The artist Che Lovelace renowned for his paintings of the people and colours of his native Trinidad saw the project as a narrative of society coming to terms with its past, viewing the commission as a “healing gesture, a gesture of moving forward with a kind of honesty." In the representation of Cugoano's baptism Lovelace chose a theme of water as a linking element in each of the four paintings which also depict hummingbirds, palm trees and bodies bathing in the waters. “I try not to be too obvious or literal. There is water, music, bodies and nature in the paintings... They straddle the boundary between magical realism, abstraction and the beauty of the natural world" he states. Realising that he has participated in a project of some significance Lovelace also states - "Having the opportunity to be part of the legacy of Ottobah Cugoano is truly significant and meaningful. To see St James's Church, Piccadilly honour his name and what he stood for, is also to bear witness to an evolving story; one where our societies acknowledge and account for, not only the traumatic episodes of our shared histories; but also finds spaces and moments where the human potential for renewal, growth and transcendence is given importance and is truly celebrated."