5 things to know about In the Black Fantastic

The exhibition brought together 11 contemporary artists who sample, reimagine and recontextualise spiritual dimensions, mythical realms and the legacy of Afrofuturism to forge new, imagined worlds, and to question what we know about our own.

In the Black Fantastic featured the artists Nick Cave, Sedrick Chisom, Ellen Gallagher, Hew Locke, Wangechi Mutu, Rashaad Newsome, Chris Ofili, Tabita Rezaire, Cauleen Smith, Lina Iris Viktor and Kara Walker.

But there was much more to In the Black Fantastic than this, so here are five key things to know about the exhibition and its inspiration.

What is the Black fantastic?

The title for this exhibition refers to a growing interest among Black artists, writers, film-makers and other creative thinkers in myth, folklore, fantastical tales, science fiction and alternative spirituality.

But it’s not about escaping the challenges of living as a Black person today – in fact, it’s the opposite. For these artists, the fantastic is a creative landscape where they can explore all-too-real aspects of lived experience, and imagine alternatives.

Where are the artists from?

The 11 artists in the exhibition come from a variety of countries, including the UK, but all of them belong to the African diaspora, those communities around the world who trace their ancestry to the African continent.

Several artists are African American, and their work engages with the history of the Atlantic slave trade as well as the social and political situation of Black people in the USA today.

Who’s behind the exhibition?

In the Black Fantastic has been curated by Ekow Eshun, a writer, journalist and curator deeply concerned with ideas around race and identity.

For Eshun, the idea of the Black fantastic ‘proposes that we both recognise the realities of the racialised everyday and also reach beyond its strictures, conjuring new paradigms, new visions, new possibilities with which to express the wonder and strangeness of being Black in the world’.

What kind of artwork is in the exhibition?

The materials used by the artists include seashells, living plants, volcanic rock and 24-carat gold, while a new commission from artist Nick Cave creates a chain curtain from interlocking resin casts of his own arm.

That work and many others are being shown for the very first time. But while the exhibition focuses on contemporary art, the oldest piece on show is a Dutch oil painting from 1641 that depicts an enslaved African worker in Brazil. It was specially selected by Ellen Gallagher to be shown alongside her works.

Is the Black fantastic limited to visual art?

Definitely not. Many of the visual artists in the exhibition have been inspired by the work of Black artists in other media. For example, Cauleen Smith draws on science fiction, Afrofuturist literature and experimental jazz to create her films and installations.

The themes of the exhibition also voyage far beyond visual art in our summer season of events celebrating contemporary Black art and culture, called Summer: In the Black Fantastic. This series will see Black writers, musicians, poets and performers all offer their own takes on the Black fantastic, with featured artists including spiritual jazz pioneers Sun Ra Arkestra, sculptor Hew Locke and techno wizard Jeff Mills.

In the Black Fantastic was at Hayward Gallery, 29 June – 18 September 2022.