Say My Name: George Floyd and Breonna Taylor among names honoured in new London exhibition

A new exhibition in London will honour George Floyd and Breonna Taylor among the names of the Black lives taken by police.

Say My Name, presented by filmmaker Ava DuVernay at the Signature African Art gallery in Mayfair, will bring together the work of 13 artists across painting and sculpture to connect African artists with the histories of the diaspora in Europe and America.

With the exhibition taking place towards the end of Black History Month, the works will also reflect on historical moments in Black history, from the Transatlantic slave trade to the Windrush scandal to the most recent Black Lives Matter protests.

George Floyd’s last words will be portrayed by Nigerian artist Oluwole Omofemi, whose work was previously exhibited at the gallery earlier this year. His offering is a series of nine paintings, one for each of the nearly nine minutes Floyd’s neck was pressed on. Benin artist Moufouli Bello will present a portrait of Breonna Taylor.

Signature African Art’s director Khalil Akar has curated the display, which will open in October. He said: “All of the artists involved hope their works will raise awareness and help to continue the conversation around the Black Lives Matter movement. It is important that we remember these stories and that we say the names of all whom we have lost.”

The exhibition also pays tribute to the activists who have fought for equality, including Dennis Osakue’s portrait of Angela Davis and Taiye Erewele’s portrait of Wangari Maathai, Kenyan activist and the first African woman to win a Nobel Prize. All of the exhibition's artworks will be revealed closer to the opening date, however, take a look at our gallery for the artists' previous works.

DuVernay, creator of many acclaimed films and series including Selma, When They See Us and Netflix documentary 13th, added: “Art is a disruptive and propulsive force. Creative expression is one of the most powerful tools that we can employ to activate and ignite change.”

Forty per cent of the proceeds from the exhibition will be donated by DuVernay's Law Enforcement Accountability Project (LEAP), which focuses on telling stories of police abuse and violence through various artforms.

Say My Name will run from October 27-November 28 at Signature African Art, signatureafricanart.com