Location

Country: UK
City: London
Place: Government Art Collection

Pan African Flag for the Relic Travellers Alliance (Motion) by Larry Achiampong is one in a  series of works based around fictional flags, that explore Afrofuturism and the African diasporic identity. Representing a tangible artefact from a proposed fictional future, the ‘flag’ is part of the artist’s multidisciplinary project that examines postcolonial experience against a context of technology, agency and the body, and accounts of migration.

The flag design incorporates 54 stars, representing each country of Africa. Green, black, yellow and red are an amalgamation of the Pan-African colours that usually feature on many African national flags either in combinations of green, yellow and red or in black, red and green. Emphasising the history, geography, communities and shared struggles of the continent, they represent a shared symbolism in which yellow represents prosperity, green, agricultural wealth, and red, the shared heritage and challenge to colonial oppression. The adaptation of the black, red and green Pan African flag, first introduced in 1920 by the Jamaican civil rights leader Marcus Garvey, represented black nationalism. Configuring Pan African colours and symbols, Achiampong creates new dynamic forms that signal a futuristic destination of unity, hope and positivity.

Born in London, Larry Achiampong completed a BA in Mixed Media Fine Art at University of Westminster (2005) and an MA in Sculpture at The Slade School of Fine Art (2008). Drawing on his Ghanaian roots, his practice explores a communal and personal heritage, where pop culture and postcolonial experience frequently collide. Using performance to investigate fictional identities, he often utilises alter-egos to examine multiple identities. Achiampong also draws upon sound and visual archives, live performance and sound to explore ideas of class, cross-cultural and post-digital identity. Achiampong’s awards include the Stanley Picker Fellowship in 2020 and the Paul Hamlyn Artist award in 2019. Since 2016, he has been a tutor on the Photography MA programme at Royal College of Art, and he is a Trustee at Iniva (Institute of International Visual Arts). Recent solo projects include 'videogame_mixtape_' (supported by Heart of Glass, 2021), 'Relic Traveller: Phase 3' (John Hansard Gallery, De La Warr Pavilion, The Line & Art on The Underground Transport For London, 2019-21), 'Relic Traveller: Phase 2' (Frieze Sculpture, StudioRCA and Whitechapel Gallery, 2019), 'Pan African Flag For The Relic Travellers Alliance & Relic Traveller, Phase 1', (Somerset House, PS/Y Kings College, Southbank Centre/Hayward Gallery and Jerwood Charitable Foundation, 2019); and 'OPEN SEASON' (Logan Center Exhibitions, Chicago, 2016). Achiampong’s work has featured in UK and international group exhibitions including in London, Wakefield, Glasgow, Karlsruhe, Berlin, Athens and Venice.

Places

Africa

Subjects

star, flag, African diaspora, Afrofuturism, migration, technology

Materials & Techniques

fabric, flag (as object name), needleworking, applique

Artist

Larry Achiampong (1984 - )

Title

Pan African Flag For The Relic Travellers’ Alliance (Motion)

Series Title

Relic Traveller: Phase 1

Edition

Number 1 in an unnumbered edition plus 2 artist's proofs

Date

2017

Medium

Appliqué flag

Dimensions

height: 74.3; width: 104.0 cm; depth: 3.4 cm

Acquisition

Purchased from the artist via Copperfield Gallery, with funds raised from print sales from the Robson Orr TenTen Award, a GAC/Outset Annual Commission, 2019

Provenance

The artist; from whom purchased by UK Government Art Collection, 18 September 2019

GAC number

18825