Decolonising My Body

Tate Britain: Look Again: the National Collection of British Art reimagined for today. Empire is a vital exploration of how Britain's colonial legacy has shaped its art, by one of the UK's most influential voices on the subject. In twenty-first century Britain, 'empire' is a word we cannot ignore. Our history of war, conquest and slavery continues to shape our present, and future. In Empire, award-winning author and broadcaster Afua Hirsch explores the ways in which Britain's imperial history and its national collection of art interact, and how artists from Britain and around the world have responded to the dramas, tragedies and everyday experiences of the Empire. Featuring an array of historic and contemporary works, Empire challenges the story of art we have been led to believe. It explores how the value and meanings of some of the most recognisable and best-loved artworks have changed throughout history, and about what they still mean to us today.

A 2023 POLITICAL BOOK OF THE YEAR (WATERSTONES) | 'GROUND-BREAKING' Bernardine Evaristo | 'UNIVERSAL AND TIMELY' Elif Shafak | 'IMPORTANT' Sathnam Sanghera | 'A GENEROUS OFFERING' Nana Darkoa Sekiyamah | 'QUIETLY RADICAL' Evening Standard | 'INTIMATE' Guardian 'I LEARNT A LOT' | Gillian Anderson<BR>What can ancestral practices teach us about how to live fuller lives today?<BR>Upon turning forty, Afua Hirsch had an encounter that forever altered her preconceived notions of ancestry and body image, making her question everything from body-modification rituals such as tattoos and piercings to the foundations of sexuality, as well as attitudes towards puberty, ageing and death. This book charts her year-long journey of radical unlearning. Bringing together global scholarship, on-the-ground reportage, personal anecdotes and interviews with beauty experts, practitioners and service users, she reassesses notions of body image beyond those of the colonial, patriarchal gaze.<BR><BR>Decolonising My Body is a powerful excavation of the Eurocentric beauty standards that have long shaped how, in particular, those from the Global Majority are perceived and view themselves. Taking us from puberty to end-of-life, Hirsch shows us that the ways in which we adorn and present ourselves have spiritual implications and shape the possibilities we see for ourselves in the world.<BR>These insights and discoveries will empower you to reconnect with your own ancestry, better understand the link between beauty, history and (respectability) politics, and liberate yourself from mainstream standards and systems that aren't serving you.<BR>*Co-host of the LOYALTY podcast with Peter Frankopan*<BR>