Complicity: An Art and Colonial History of London

Bookended by visits to Henry Tate's mausoleum and the tomb of Lord Mayor Henry Tulse, in this book, the author of the critically acclaimed poetry collection Surge goes for a six-mile walk across London--"this city I love"--to think about the meaning of complicity. We live in the legacy of colonialism. It permeates the very fabric of the social structures in which we exist. It visibly haunts the streets of London, anchored by statues and monuments that commemorate a violent imperial past. What does it mean, then, to love this city that was once the heart of an empire?

Punctuated by works in Britain's national collection of art, Complicity is an insightful meditation on how art can help us reckon with a dark history and an uncertain future.

Includes Color Images