When I shared my research with CCC Senior Lecturer at ‘Saint Martins,  
Rahul Patel, a few weeks ago, he handed me some readings. A paper that stood out was on The Benin Bronzes.

Calling Benin’s bronzes just “objects” feels insulting.

They were central to political and spiritual systems in Benin, Africa at the time.

Benin’s Bronzes are Embodiments of the King’s sacred power to move between spiritual worlds.

Today, they sit behind European glass.

Living functions of The Benin Empire flattened, reduced to “Black art”, “Primitive Art”, “African Art”.  

Over the past few weeks, I have learnt this is how the European empire has defined what counts as valuable in global ciruculation today.

The British Empire didn’t simply conqure land or objects; rather meaning and knowledge systems.