GEOFF BOTTOMS appreciates the local touch brought to a production of Dickens’s perennial classic
Anti-imperialism for kids
JOHN GREEN applauds the clarity with which an upcoming exhibition and book make plain Britain's role in the slave trade
John Bull — linocuts and sculptures by Jeff Perks to a poem by Michael Rosen
Green Man Gallery, Buxton, Derbyshire
JOHN BULL is a unique exhibition by visual artist Jeff Perks together with the poet Michael Rosen and in collaboration with the pupils of Litton Primary School, Buxton.
Children’s author Michael Rosen wrote his poem John Bull to explain how slavery came about and how much of Britain’s wealth and the capital for its industrial revolution came from slavery, a fact that is still today barely acknowledged in mainstream histories. This striking exhibition of original linocuts and sculptures provides a visual counterpoint to Rosen’s words and includes work created by pupils from Litton Primary School in response to the poem.
Similar stories
KEN COCKBURN assesses the art of Ian Hamilton Finlay for the experience of warfare it incited and represents
SIMON DUFF explores the latest offering of the Chinese artist in exile AI WEI WEI
CAROLINE FOWLER explains how the slave trade helped establish the ‘golden age’ of Dutch painting and where to find its hidden traces
JOHN GREEN debates the potential of a book that explores fascism in US history and its contemporary impact to reach the audience it deserves



