AUBREY WILLIAMS: ART, HISTORIES, FUTURES

Edited by Ian Dudley and Maridowa Williams, with an introduction by Kobena Mercer.

This book is so immediately impressive that it challenges the old mantra that you can’t judge a book by its cover. Fortunately, the contents match its high production values, spanning some 350 pages that more than meets legitimate expectations.

The foreword, written by Alex Farquharson, Director of Tate Britain, who refers to Aubrey Williams as ‘the great Guyanese modern artist’, underscores the extent to which he has gained in critical appreciation in mainstream art circles. The main thrust of his insightful foreword which ranges over Williams’ life, including his engagement with the Caribbean Artists Movement, can be summed up by his reference to the retrospective repositioning of Williams’ work: ‘That repositioning may be seen in relation to a paradigm shift in how British art is intellectually framed. A canon that, in its own day, was for the most part a monocultural national story, whose Eurocentrism and whiteness were normalised and rarely noted, has been in the process of being transformed into one that places as much emphasis on British art’s transnational and cross-cultural dimensions.’

Taken at face value, there is no denying that there has been a general re-evaluation of the contributions from the Global South which has favoured Aubrey Williams’ legacy. To a great extent, this has been based on the championing of his work over the years by a cluster of critics and intellectuals. Chief amongst these have been Kobena Mercer and Ian Dudley, not to mention Anne Walmsley and Guy Brett amongst others.

Kobena Mercer’s comprehensive introduction traces Williams’ lineal development through significant sources, from Indigenous Amerindian cultural influences through to music, literature and science. Biographical details are interspersed with outlines of the various phases of Williams’ artistic output – his early, tentative probing of the American influences, through to more mainstream evocations of modern abstract expressionism as well as his lesser-known figurative work. Kobena’s selection of paintings to support the text eloquently illustrates his references.

No less impressive is Ian Dudley’s contribution, based on his earlier ground-breaking research into Amerindian art and culture which resonates so strongly in Williams’ practice. Whilst the importance of this Indigenous dimension of Williams’ work is often flagged up by his titles and/or taken for granted, Dudley’s diligent excavations of Amerindian culture, myths and symbols corroborate Williams’ authentic immersion in that world. This Williams saw as his path through art into the essential de-colonisation of the colonial mind as a prelude to absorbing a new Caribbean Identity.

Other essays include major contributions by Claudia Hucke on Aubrey’s transnational phase, especially time spent in Jamaica. Giulia Smith writes on his ecological vision while the curatorial histories of Aubrey Williams is dealt with by Andrew Dempsey, Chili Hawes, Elisabeth Lalouschek, Andrew Wilson and Ian Dudley. Maridowa William’s 'Reflections on Formative Years' has the authority of close kinship as the artist’s daughter and impassioned supporter of his legacy.

'In His Own Words' is a collection of the writings (including poetry) and opinions of the artist, sure to open up new avenues into the soul of this great multi-dimensional creator. Towering over all the distinguished written accounts in this beautifully edited and produced book looms the marvellous reproductions of the full range of Aubrey Williams’ creative output, numbering some one hundred and thirty images.

At £40.00, this book is a great investment.

Errol Lloyd

November, 2024

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