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Lot Essay
This painting, evocative of outer space, reflects Aubrey Williams’s fascination with contemporary science and cosmology. The artist was a member of the Royal Astronomical Society, and Kobena Mercer writes: ‘Maridowa Williams confirms that throughout the 1960s and 1970s her father avidly read Scientific American, Omni, and other science periodicals. [We should note the] twin poles of Williams’ interest in the science of rock formation, and the science of galaxy formation, alongside his interest in archaic Amerindian petroglyphs’ (K. Mercer, ‘Aubrey Williams: Abstraction in Diaspora’, British Art Studies, Issue 8, June 2018).
His current Tate Britain room, ‘Cosmological Abstractions 1973-85’, showcases this blend of concerns: the cosmic and natural forms in the works displayed are rooted in imagery from the Indigenous cultures of Central America, in line with his interest in the pre-colonial histories of these Indigenous peoples. The present work was painted in 1966, the year in which Williams co-founded the Caribbean Artists Movement (CAM) with several London-based Caribbean artists and intellectuals. The artist described the movement, which was active until 1972: ‘CAM was very important at the time. It helped create an intellectual atmosphere for everybody to be creative and relate to each other. It was something from which even the native British benefitted’ (Rasheed Araeen, ‘Conversation with Aubrey Williams’, Third Text, Vol. 1, Issue 2, 1987, p. 35).
His current Tate Britain room, ‘Cosmological Abstractions 1973-85’, showcases this blend of concerns: the cosmic and natural forms in the works displayed are rooted in imagery from the Indigenous cultures of Central America, in line with his interest in the pre-colonial histories of these Indigenous peoples. The present work was painted in 1966, the year in which Williams co-founded the Caribbean Artists Movement (CAM) with several London-based Caribbean artists and intellectuals. The artist described the movement, which was active until 1972: ‘CAM was very important at the time. It helped create an intellectual atmosphere for everybody to be creative and relate to each other. It was something from which even the native British benefitted’ (Rasheed Araeen, ‘Conversation with Aubrey Williams’, Third Text, Vol. 1, Issue 2, 1987, p. 35).