5 things to know about Tavares Strachan: There Is Light Somewhere

This summer the Hayward Gallery presents the first mid-career survey dedicated to the work of New York-based, Bahamian artist, Tavares Strachan.

The exhibition, Tavares Strachan: There Is Light Somewhere, features monumental new sculptural commissions alongside neon works, mixed-media installations, large-scale collages and bronze and ceramic sculptures. And, as we explain below, it showcases the inventive ways in which Strachan has used his art to celebrate unsung heroes and introduce audiences to overlooked cultural trailblazers.

Tavares Strachan has created his own encyclopaedia

As a child in the Bahamas, Tavares Strachan was introduced to the Encyclopedia Britannica by his grandfather, but he questioned why no one from his own community was represented in its pages.

So began a lifelong fascination with lost stories, and a campaign to re-tell them through art. It took Strachan nearly a decade to produce his 3,000 page, leather-bound volume, filled with 17,000 entries on overlooked or neglected people, places and things. He called this monumental project The Encyclopedia of Invisibility and it will be presented within an immersive installation in the Hayward Gallery exhibition.

He mixes ancient with modern to tell hopeful stories

Strachan draws together unexpected connections that leap across time and space. His bronze sculptures of twentieth century figures like Jamaican activist Marcus Garvey and dub music pioneer King Tubby are made to appear time-worn, bringing to mind artefacts from an ancient civilisation. And there are his ceramic sculptures, which draw parallels between people who lived centuries apart, like the Queen of Sheba and singer Nina Simone. Strachan describes this approach as ‘world-making’, and he uses it to manifest powerful stories of resistance and hope for the future.

Strachan is the first person from the Bahamas to reach the North Pole

Inspired by Matthew Henson, an African American explorer who was part of the first successful mission to the North Pole, Strachan has undertaken a number of his own trips to the Arctic. In 2013, he reached the North Pole himself, and planted a personalised flag in the blue, black and gold of the Bahamas. Other physically demanding challenges undertaken by the artist include deep sea diving and training as an astronaut. From the latter Strachan founded the scientific research platform BASEC (Bahamas Aerospace and Sea Exploration Center) as a means of bringing science and technology to young people in a community where access to these fields is comparatively limited.

A conceptual artist, he constantly experiments with physical materials

Powerful ideas about art and science; visibility and invisibility; belonging and displacement are at the heart of Strachan’s work. Yet he is also fascinated by materials, and There Is Light Somewhere will showcase an extraordinary range of mediums from paintings, collage and tapestry to ceramic, bronze and neon. Strachan has also pioneered some unique approaches, like encasing glass human figures in tanks filled with mineral oil for a series of ‘invisible’ sculptures; and collecting hair from Bahamian barbershops and flocking it into traditional African hair styles to adorn bronze busts.

Everything happening all at once

Strachan’s approach to artmaking is interdisciplinary. Poetry, food, science, dance, and particularly music have served as great sources of inspiration. He credits the early influence of musicians like King Tubby, Bob Marley and the Wailers and Burning Spear whose music is universally accessible through its rhythms and basslines whilst also being a vehicle for the artists’ personal stories and political messages. Imagery from his many influences can be seen within his work, enriching Strachan’s storytelling. Several sculptures in the exhibition celebrate musical pioneers including Nina Simone, Sister Rosetta Tharpe and King Tubby.

Header image: Installation view of Tavares Strachan: There Is Light Somewhere. Intergalactic Palace, 2024. Photo: Mark Blower. Courtesy the artist and the Hayward Gallery.