RICHARD MURGATROYD enjoys a readable account of the life and meditations of one of the few Roman emperors with a good reputation
Organic eye-openers
Drawing on elements such as seeds, pods and fruit stones, VERONICA RYAN'S works subtly reflect environmental and sociopolitical concerns, says Michal Boncza
NARRATIVES: (L to R) Sewing Seeds, Tidal
ALEX HALL asks whether intelligence, and stupidity, are the outcomes of poverty and wealth, and cultural norms
BRENT CUTLER is persuaded by a new account of the rise of Christianity, and the fall of the Roman empire
If non-human nature is devoid of value under the capitalist mode of production, this book presents the case for its reintegration, suggests HENRY BELL
The Bard takes issue with a BBC portrait of The Balkans, and sets the record straight
ANGUS REID urges you to visit Britain’s most remarkable - and mind-blowing - festival of contemporary music
MARIA DUARTE reviews Desperate Journey, Blue Moon, Pillion, and Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery
Veronica Ryan: Along a Spectrum
Spike Island, Bristol
VERONICA RYAN is an outsider by circumstance as much as by choice. Born in Montserrat, she came to Britain as a child as part of the Windrush exodus.
When at the Bath Academy of Art, Ryan was the only black student for the first two years of her course. In a new environment, she would be noticed first and foremost for the colour of her skin and this would cause her considerable anxiety.
As she does now, she understood then that separateness is both sovereignty and independence and has resolutely resisted being pigeonholed.
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FIONA O'CONNOR recommends a biography that is a beautiful achievement and could stand as a manifesto for the power of subtlety in art
ANDY HEDGECOCK relishes two exhibitions that blur the boundaries between art and community engagement
GAVIN O’TOOLE explores the resistance expressed by central American artists to their own erasure by US imperialist policies
MICHAL BONCZA recommends a compact volume that charts the art of propagating ideas across the 20th century