Tavares Strachan: There is Light Somewhere

A vivid and exuberantly inventive exhibition of works by Tavares Strachan in which you could encounter hidden figures, a ship floating on the London skyline and a walk-in encyclopaedia of lost pioneers.

Tavares Strachan is a Bahamian-born conceptual artist whose multimedia and sculptural installations explore themes of science, technology, mythology and history.

There is Light Somewhere highlighted Strachan’s innovative approach to celebrating unsung explorers and cultural pioneers, whose stories have often been overlooked due to bias. In shining a light on these hidden histories, the artist highlights our shared yearning for belonging and recognition. And through works about space exploration to the artist’s own treks to the North Pole visitors were taken on a rich journey of discovery across time and space. 

Featured in the exhibition were immersive installations, fantastical sculptures, striking collages, moving neon works and live performances that were both playful and profound. Among them was Black Star (2024), a 14-metre-long liner placed on the specially flooded roof of the gallery; the wood, thatch and neon sculpture of the musical Intergalactic Palace (2024), the Encyclopedia of Invisibility (2014-18), and, in Seated Panchen Lama (2011) and Henrietta (2014), human figures made of glass and submerged in tanks of mineral oil to make ‘invisible’ sculptures.

Music also provided a recurring point of inspiration, with paintings and sculptures paying homage to musical giants ranging from Nina Simone to King Tubby, and the Black Star steamship blasting a lively radio programme DJ-ed straight from Jamaica. No wonder The Art Newspaper described the exhibition ‘an orchestra of the senses’.

‘an enthralling show, boldly inventive… it’s one of the most powerful exhibitions I’ve been to in a long time’

London Live

‘art that sizzles with life’

The Guardian