MICK MCSHANE is roused by a band whose socialism laces every line of every song with commitment and raw passion
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Modest exhibition interrogates unsavoury past as V&A offers a ‘mea culpa’
(L to R) Gold pendant; a brass weight is in the form of an antelope with extended horns; brass shield; a pectoral gold disc, akrafokonmu
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ALEX HALL is disgusted by the misuse of ‘emotional narratives’ to justify uninformed geo-political prejudice
SUE TURNER welcomes a thoughtful, engaging book that lays bare the economic realities of global waste management
JOHN GREEN welcomes an insider account of the achievements and failures of the transition to democracy in Portugal
SIMON PARSONS applauds an imaginative and absorbing updating of Strindberg’s classic
PETER MASON is enthralled by an assembly of objects, ancient and modern, that have lain in the mud of London’s river
ASANTE GOLDWEIGHTS
Victoria and Albert (V&A), London
IN THE Metalware Gallery (Room 116) at the V&A a humble display of Asante Goldweights has acquired a significance far beyond the modest number of the items on display.
“It reflects the developing discussions in museums around decolonisation and the need for us to be open about the V&A’s history as both an expression and a driver of 19th-century imperialism,” writes V&A senior curator Angus Patterson in a companion piece.
This honesty needs to saluted as it marks a significant step in a process that would hopefully lead to a significant restitution of art treasures hoarded in British museums which are, more often than not, of great social, cultural and political significance to their original creators.
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