Lynette Yiadom-Boakye paints people who do not exist. What appear to be portraits from life are imaginary figures. She creates textured and complex personalities, familiar and yet dreamlike, and her poetic titles evoke a tradition of storytelling. For the artist, the elusiveness of her subjects reflects freedom and agency: ‘It isn’t so much about placing anyone in the canon as it is about saying that we’ve always been here, we’ve always existed, self-sufficient, pre and post-discovery, and in no way defined by who sees us.’
‘Lynette Yiadom-Boakye: Fly In League With The Night’, Tate Britain, London, until February 26, 2023
