Fish and Sandwich: art and cultural politics

Canterbury Christ Church University's Public Lecture Series

This lecture looks at why decisions are taken about sending particular works of art abroad, and what they say about us, and about those who receive them. Examples include: David Hockney, sent to Mexico the year after homosexuality was decriminalised in Britain; works by Mona Hatoum, sent to Iran during the Islamic Revolution; and works by Antony Gormley, which we chose not to send to Bosnia despite the artist’s entreaties during the Balkan wars. Other parts of the world, as varied as Saudi Arabia, the US, and Northern Ireland, are also considered in this lecture, and how our perspectives shift when seen from very different angles.