Photo By Gail

Hervé Télémaque (1937 – 2022), moved from Haiti to the US in 1957 to work as an artist. He described his time there as a struggle against the dominance of both abstract expressionist painting and racism in wider society. After moving to Paris in 1961 Télémaque curated the Mythologies Quotidiennes exhibition. He also cofounded the narrative figuration movement, which incorporated elements of pop art and surrealism. La Girouette (The Weathervane, 1969) is typical of this approach – Télémaque ‘narrates’ the painting with objects and imagery from his personal life. Everyday items like a clothes hanger and beach chair are combined in surprising and ambiguous ways.

Photographed in the Tate Modern Museum in London.