Early day motion tabled by primary sponsor Patrick Grady (Scottish National Party), on Thursday, 15 July 2021, in the House of Commons. It is signed by 15 members in total.

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Professor Samson Kambalu and the Fourth Plinth commission

That this House welcomes the commission of Professor Samson Kambalu and his sculpture Antelope for installation on the Fourth Plinth in Trafalgar Square in 2022; recognises that the sculpture is a recreation of a 1914 photograph of pan-Africanist Malawian preacher, John Chilembwe and European missionary John Chorley, where Chilembwe wears a hat in defiance of colonial rules which forbade this in front of white people; acknowledges that, the year after the photograph was taken, the preacher led a rebellion against colonial rule and died; understands that the artist depicts a larger-than-life Chilembwe, in contrast to the life-size Chorley, to elevate Chilembwe and his story and reveal the hidden narratives of underrepresented people in the history of the British Empire in Africa and beyond; notes that Malawi-born Kamablu, who is Associate Professor of Fine Art at the Ruskin School of Art and a Fellow of Magdalen College, has described the commission as a litmus test for how much he belongs to British society as an African and a cosmopolitan; and congratulates Professor Kambalu on having his work chosen for public display in Trafalgar Square to be engaged with and appreciated by millions of people.

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Secondary information

Type

Early day motion

Reference

326 

Session

2021-22

Other sponsors

Jim Shannon

Joanna Cherry

Chris Law

Owen Thompson

Anum Qaisar

Subjects

Sculpture Kambalu, Samson Trafalgar Square

Link

View this Early day motion on edm.parliament.uk