The British Council is pleased to announce further details of Lubaina Himid’s commission for the British Pavilion, a major solo exhibition of new work titled Predicting History: Testing Translation.
Predicting History: Testing Translation explores the nature of belonging and how to make a home in the new place. The exhibition acts as a guide to navigating life in places outside one's roots, illustrating a journey of learning and an acceptance of what home truly signifies. As the title suggests, nothing in life is easy or perfect: because predicting history is an impossibility, while translation is always an approximation.
A new series of large, multipaneled paintings of dazzling colours, showing surreal and magical settings, exemplifies Himid’s artistic approach. She acts as both writer and performance director, establishing characters, crafting narratives, imagining dialogues and, in collaboration with artist Magda Stawarska, creates a surreal soundscape. The exhibition makes tangible the daily tensions of how to belong.
Embracing the British Pavilion's neo-classical architecture, Himid represents Britain as somewhere welcoming and airy, brimming with potential, albeit with an underlying sense of unease as the sounds, texts, and images subtly introduce tension.
Lubaina Himid CBE RA (b. 1954, Zanzibar) is a world-renowned British artist, known for a pioneering practice which addresses themes of race, history, feminism, cultural memory and identity. She frequently employs storytelling and historical research to challenge dominant Eurocentric narratives and highlight the overlooked contributions of Black figures in Western history.
Lubaina Himid said: “In private we surround ourselves with real and invented memories, artefacts, recipes and music, which reassures us that we belong in the new place and reminds us that despite this, the old place can never be erased entirely.
“The new place sometimes seems welcoming, light, airy and full of possibilities for us and our families but something is wrong, something is awkward. Some things are unresolved, unsettling and remain unsaid.
“This is that place; we cannot leave it. These are the plans; we continue to make them.”
Emma Dexter, Director Visual Arts and the British Council Collection and Commissioner of the British Pavilion, said: “As commissioner of the British Pavilion, the British Council is thrilled to present Lubaina Himid’s Predicting History: Testing Translation. Her vibrant, immersive practice brings together dazzling colour, layered sound and narrative to evoke thoughts about the UK as a space of both possibility and tension. This exhibition explores what it means to belong, challenging dominant histories and representing the UK in a clear, contemporary light - open, complex, and shaped by many voices.”
Ese Onojeruo, Shane Akeroyd Associate Curator of the British Pavilion, said: “As we prepare to open the British Pavilion at the 61st International Art Exhibition of La Biennale di Venezia, it has been an extraordinary privilege to serve as Shane Akeroyd Associate Curator alongside Lubaina Himid. Her practice grounded in care, dialogue and a critical understanding of space has deeply shaped the development of this exhibition, and supporting her vision in Venice has been both an honour and a profound learning experience. I am grateful to the British Council for the opportunity to contribute to this landmark project.”
Ruth Mackenzie, Director of Arts, British Council, said: “The British Pavilion showcases the British Council's values, and our world-class art and architecture exhibitions inspire new ways of seeing the world. Lubaina Himid’s work does this with extraordinary clarity and beauty. She weaves personal stories with global histories, asking questions about home, migration and memory. Predicting History: Testing Translation is a testament to the power of art to help us all understand our shared pasts and joint power.”
For more information visit: venicebiennale.britishcouncil.org
Art Fund is generously supporting the commission, along with a tour to bring the exhibition to venues and audiences across the UK. More details including locations for the UK tour will be announced in the coming months.
The exhibition is supported by Frieze, in its second partnership with the British Council Commission for the British Pavilion, and the Henry Moore Foundation.
Significant support also comes from Jill Hackel and Andrzej Zarzycki, Elia Mourtzanou, and Shane Akeroyd – and the British Council’s Ambassador Circle & Global Circle.