Tavares Strachan: There Is Light Somewhere

Using historical records to question what is remembered and what is forgotten, Strachan's culturally engaged practice spotlights the lost stories of the people of the African Diaspora

This monograph focuses on the inventive ways in which the Bahamian artist Tavares Strachan (born 1979) engages with questions of cultural visibility and social inequity through painting, sculpture and installation. An interview with curator Ralph Rugoff and essays by writers Ekow Eshun and Maggie M. Cao examine the myriad ways Strachan's work turns upside down conventional models of knowledge and education, discussing the artist's own role as an explorer as well as works that pay homage to pioneers who navigated unknown ideas and uncharted territories. This lavishly illustrated volume features work from Strachan's The Encyclopedia of Invisibility--an ongoing, 2,400-page publication and related sculptures and paintings that spotlight figures forgotten by history--as well as recent pieces that imaginatively remap the lost cultural connections between African diaspora people and traditional African societies.