TfL Brixton station: New artwork unveiled celebrating long history of Black Britons - in photos

A new mural has been unveiled at Brixton Underground station, celebrating the long history of Black Britons and the iconic south London location’s community and diversity.

The work is part of Transport for London’s (TfL) Art on the Underground series, and was created by Italian artist Jem Perucchini.

Following on from previous works by artists including Njideka Akunyili Crosby and Joy Labinjo, Mr Perucchini’s Rebirth of a Nation challenges the perspective that Black British history goes back no further than the 20th century.

The piece is partly-inspired by the Ivory Bangle Lady, the name given to a woman whose grave was discovered in York. 

Of North African origin, her grave featured various valuable items, including an elephant ivory bangle, indicating she enjoyed high social status. This aligned with wider research showing African people were involved at various levels of Roman society, reflecting a more diverse Britain at that time than typically depicted in historical narratives.

The work also draws from the diversity of Brixton, a key London location in more recent Black British history where almost a third of those who travelled on the Empire Windrush settled.

Mr Perucchini said: “For me, Brixton represents a microcosm of London, a place where the community creates a local focus. The Underground station then acts as the main pivot between the centre and the periphery, the inside and the outside of the city.

“Working on this project has been very stimulating, not only for the opportunity to see my work reproduced in such a large format, but also because of its location in the heart of Brixton, visible by all its inhabitants and those who pass through it.”

Eleanor Pinfield, head of Art on the Underground, said: “Jem Perucchini’s sublime work for Brixton Underground station presents an allegorical scene that resonates stylistically with the Early Renaissance, drawing us to a time when religious art played a central role in the everyday fabric of life. 

“The artist’s technical skill in developing such a highly identifiable composition is supported by a conceptual desire to challenge the assumptions of Western art history in considering who is represented, what hierarchies are depicted and whose narrative is privileged.

“Speaking to the long thread of Black British history in the UK, “Rebirth of a Nation” continues Art on the Underground’s exploration of contemporary responses to muralism for Brixton station.”

Rebirth of a Nation will be on-view in the station for a year.