At the end of November, British outlets raised a ruckus after a pan-African flag by British Ghanaian artist Larry Achiampong replaced a portrait of Queen Elizabeth II in the Foreign Office. This week, Achiampong responded to what he called a “fuss,” labeling it “deeply problematic.”
The Daily Mail reported that the Foreign Office, run by Deputy Prime Minister David Lammy, had hung two works from Achiampong’s 2017 series “Relic Traveller: Phase 1,” respectively titled Pan African Flag For The Relic Travellers’ Alliance (Motion) and Pan African Flag For The Relic Travellers’ Alliance (Community). Both works are appliqué flags that reconfigure elements of the red, yellow, black, and green pan-African flag. There are 54 stars, one for each country in Africa.
According to a statement about the “Relic Traveller” series on Achiampong’s site, the series focuses on “the social and political climate of recent times; the rise of nationalism within the global West and tensions surrounding moments such as the United Kingdom’s leave ‘Brexit’ vote in 2016. Meanwhile, the African Union’s passport programme (also established in 2016) moves towards the opening of boarders across a unified African continent.”
Both the Daily Mail and the Telegraph reported that Achiampong’s flags—which are listed on the Government Art Collection website—replaced a photograph of Queen Elizabeth II. That portrait, the publications said, is now in storage. The Community flag has already been removed, according to the Daily Mail.
The reports rankled some conservative politicians such as Lee Anderson, an MP with the right-wing Reform UK party. Following the reports, Anderson said of Lammy in an interview with GB News, “He is forever criticising our history. It’s spineless politicians like Lammy that are making us the laughing stock of the world.”
Achiampong, whose films and installations have been shown widely, waved off the controversy in an interview with the Guardian this week. “The fuss over the fact that the queen’s image has been replaced with pan-African colours speaks to this narrative of ‘immigrants are here, they’re coming over, they’re taking over everything’,” he told the publication. He added that the outrage was “deeply problematic.”
He pointed out that the Daily Mail report also included word that Lammy had exhibited works by Lubaina Himid and Yinka Shonibare, both of whom are British; the former was born in Zanzibar and the latter is of Nigerian descent. “We are celebrated and awarded artists that have done incredible things with our work,” Achiampong said.
The artist also said he did not necessarily care if his art made others upset. “My practice has always been about—in a sense—getting underneath the skin to talk about these issues,” he said. “If that pisses people off, then, in a way, the job’s being done.”
