Ben Uri Research Unit

Born: 1947 Roseau

Year of Migration to the UK: 1955

Biography

Artist Tam Joseph was born in Roseau, Dominica, in the Caribbean, in 1947 and immigrated to England in 1955, at the age of eight. He attended life-drawing classes at the Islington Art Studio and went on to complete a foundation course at the Central School of Art in London in 1966-67. He subsequently enrolled at the Slade School of Fine Art, but left after two months, and briefly worked on Yellow Submarine, the 1968 animated film featuring the Beatles, as a painter and tracer. Joseph travelled in Europe, Turkey, Iran, Afghanistan, Pakistan and India before entering the London College of Printing in 1973 to study typographic design. Three years later he graduated and began to work as a layout artist and graphic designer for Africa and West Africa magazines, as well as a designer of album covers. His work took him on further travels to Nigeria, Ghana, Ivory Coast, Burkina Faso, Togo and Senegal during the late 1970s and early 1980s. In 1979, he illustrated Buchi Emecheta's children's book Titch the Cat, published by Allison and Busby. In the 1970s, he also worked with the Keskidee Centre Collective, a hub for African and Afro-Caribbean politics and arts in North London, including designing theatre sets.

As his career as an artist developed, Joseph's work has been exhibited widely, in solo shows including This is History in Bradford, Sheffield and Carlisle (1998-99), and Evolution - Tam Joseph Paintings (2020) and The Face: Portraits by Tam Joseph (2021-22) at Felix & Spear, London. He has also featured in group exhibitions including From Two Worlds, Whitechapel Art Gallery (1986), Black Art: Plotting the Course, Oldham Art Gallery (1988), No Colour Bar: Black British Art in Action 1960–1990, Guildhall Art Gallery (2015-16), Unexpected: Continuing Narratives of Identity and Migration, Ben Uri (2016), and Life Between Islands: Caribbean-British Art 1950s - Now at Tate Britain (2021-22).

Described by art historian and curator Eddie Chambers as 'a uniquely talented, multidimensional artist' (Tam Joseph - This is History), Joseph's work combines humour with political and historical narratives to explore the inspirations, aspirations, and contradictions of contemporary realities. Chambers writes that he has 'contributed a number of memorable paintings that locate themselves at the centre of social and political commentary, often doing so in ways that reflect the artist's characteristic wit, humour, cynicism, and perceptiveness' (Black Artists in British Art, p. 75). Two of Joseph's best-known works are Spirit of the Carnival and UK School Report. Spirit of the Carnival commented on the growing police presence at the annual Notting Hill Carnival, and the experiences of those on the receiving end of police brutality and intimidation, while at the same time celebrating black cultural resistance and resilience in the face of racism. UK School Report, created in 1983, depicts the passage of a Black youth through the British education system in three portraits that are captioned: 'Good at sports', 'Likes music' and 'Needs surveillance'. Attempts have been made to link Joseph to the 1980s Black Art movement, but the artist distances himself and his work from any attempts at definition. He has insisted: 'I wasn’t trying to develop a distinctly Black art. I was trying to develop myself as a person, through my art, and that's what I’ve been trying to do all the time'. Nevertheless, 'Joseph, whilst championing artistic independence, never forgets he is a African. His African-ness is the starting point for his work. From there, he can move in any direction he wants' (Tam Joseph - This is History). Joseph's eclectic practice, working and experimenting across media as a painter, illustrator, graphic artist, printmaker and sculptor, challenges cultural and racial stereotypes in Britain, and explores diaspora, identity, spirituality, politics, and histories of slavery, colonialism and empire. His painting The Hand Made Map of the World (Ben Uri collection), playfully reorders conventional geographies to blur boundaries and to suggest new and unexpected possibilities. Drawing on multiple sources for his work, Joseph's wit and creativity can also be see in his reworking of the 17th century masterpiece The Laughing Cavalier by Frans Hals which sees the sitter transformed into Jimi Hendrix for Laughing Legend with Stratocaster (2012-19).

Tam Joseph lives and works in London. His works are held in UK public collections including the Arts Council, Ben Uri Collection, Bradford Museums and Galleries, Glasgow Museums, Museums Sheffield, and the Victoria & Albert Museum. In September 2023 Joseph featured in the longstanding BBC Radio 4 programme 'The Reunion', exploring the foundation of the BLK Art Group. In 2023, the exhibition Beam Me Up, Sweet Lord , spanning a period of almost 40 years and featuring paintings and sculptures, was held at Felix & Spear, London.