Hannah Black on Lubaina Himid's Revisionist Painting

In an essay for Afterall Journal 43, Hannah Black analyzes Lubaina Himid's painting "My Parents, Their Children" (1986) and broader practice. Black examines the painting's depiction of a pale-skinned man and dark-skinned woman whose bodies dissolve into a red background, with a white column separating them bearing the text "my grandfather never met my grandmother." Black interprets this as exploring irreconcilable differences and the legacy of slavery. The essay discusses Himid's installation "Naming the Money" (2004), featuring life-size cut-outs of Black servants from historical portraits, shown at Harris Museum and Art Gallery in Preston and Victoria and Albert Museum in London in 2007. Black references Himid's series "Swallow Hard" (2007), paintings on British ceramics addressing Black visibility and invisibility. Himid's 1985 exhibition "The Thin Black Line" at the Institute of Contemporary Arts (ICA) in London included Black and Asian women artists. Black cites Christina Sharpe's concept of "wake work" from "In the Wake" (2016) and D.W. Winnicott's theory of fear of breakdown. Himid's series "Plan B" (1999-2000) and "Guardian Paperworks: Negative Positives" (2007-ongoing) are discussed. The essay concludes with Himid's painting "Between the Two My Heart Is Balanced" (1991), depicting two Black women on a boat, a Tate holding bought with sugar money.