Simeon Barclay’s Southampton show on British exclusion
Get the Culture newsletter
Daily culture — film, music, books, the trends and ideas worth your attention. Free.
- Simeon Barclay staged a Southampton exhibition that he describes as “a lament of sorts, to access and loss,” focusing on exclusion and the black British experience.
- Simeon Barclay was nominated for the Turner prize weeks before the exhibition opened, a detail the reviewer cites as supporting his candidacy.
- Romelu Lukaku’s face appears on half‑and‑half football scarves hanging from a ceiling fan in the gallery, symbolising the immigrant athlete’s celebrated yet unfulfilled status.
- Star Wars imagery decorates two white PVC doors with Imperial Guard stencils, creating an illusion of power that keeps viewers out.
- Southampton hosts the exhibition, where locked mountain bikes, taxidermy pigeons, a ripped parachute, and an inflatable Donald Duck underscore the theme of modern Britain’s barriers.
Why it matters: The exhibition bolsters Barclay’s Turner‑prize prospects, giving him greater platform while spotlighting the exclusion faced by black Britons, and challenges Britain’s cultural institutions to confront systemic bias.
Ask SkimNews
