Me Myself and I // Home // My Grandmother’s House Shepherd Manyika

iniva’s latest exhibition in the Stuart Hall Library, Me Myself and I // Home // My Grandmother’s House by multi media artist Shepherd Manyika, draws on notions of identity, family and heritage to reflect a playful approach which belies deep rooted questioning of who we are and what it means to belong.

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Over the course of ten weeks, a group of fifteen year four pupils have embarked on an exploration of these topics using a range of media through iniva’s schools programme ArtLab+. These include plaster and foil body castings, sculpture and protest signage: their bodies as their physical identity; sculptures of their initials reference the ways they are perceived by others; and protest signage references the social climate they are growing up in, contributing to who they are and how they think. They have also worked on a call and response piece with Shepherd using one of his prints as the base for the creation of their own works. Here Shepherd has created prints based on a cookbook, referencing his Malawian background and upbringing which has brought forth the children’s own questions to do with their childhoods.

This exhibition does not look to separate the achievements of the children from the professional artist and instead challenges the traditional hierarchies of the visual art world.

Shepherd Manyika is a London based, mixed media artist, interested in memory and play. He explores themes such as identity, representation, collaboration and points of access. Shepherd has shown at and worked with Spike Island, iniva, South London Gallery, TATE, Milton Keynes Art Centre, AIR and the CCA gallery. Shepherd also works on various education programs across London. Shepherd graduated in BA Fine Art at Central Saint Martin’s in 2011 and MA in Academic Practice in Art, Design and Communication from Central Saint Martins 2019.

ArtLab+ artists: Adrian, Blessing, Darren, Erhan, Favour, Hanifi, Kemi, Noah, Richard, Saif, Samar Mae, Shalom, Sienna, Xin Li, Zara

In conversation: Join Shepherd Manyika and artist Mary Evans on 22nd July to discuss the exhibition and building better access to the arts. Find out more

Image: Sound Opus by Shepherd Manyika, 2018