MARK TURNER is staggered by a gifted jazz pianist from the Welsh Valleys
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The ancestors know
ROGER McKENZIE recommends an exhibition that explores the colonial plunder hidden in the collection, and the questions it raises
JESSICA WIDNER explores how the twin themes of violence and love run through the novels of South Korean Nobel prize-winner Han Kang
SARAH TROTT explores short fictional slices of life in the American midwest from a middle-aged and mostly female perspective
New releases from Black Country, New Road, Anouar Brahem, and Jaywalkers
RICHARD CLARKE recommends a hugely valuable text for those seeking theoretical analysis and practical action to defend public services
JOHN HAWKINS is moved by an oral history that examines five black families pushed into homelessness in the US
BOB NEWLAND recommends an outstanding study of how images have shaped narratives of identity, resistance and power in South Africa
Hew Locke – What Have We Here?
British Museum, London
I FEEL like I’m walking into one of those stolen goods storage areas in a police station when I walk into a museum. To me, museums are basically lock-ups.
No matter how much fancy language is used to try to finesse it, the basic truth is many of the “exhibits” in museums are there because some colonialist has decided to remove them from their rightful dwelling place, either to make money or to claim that the only “safe” place for them is in a museum.
Nevertheless, I love the British Museum — as a history buff I can’t help it! It is just full of all the things I want to find out more about. Much of it is the heritage that has been hidden or stolen from me.
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