Richard Hamilton's painting of The State

Richard Hamilton has made three diptych paintings relating to the 'troubles' in Northern Ireland. The citizen, 1981-3, The subject, 1988-90 and The state, 1993 which shows a British soldier on patrol. The state expresses the unease of the army's equivocal position between the two warring groups in Northern Ireland, and the dual role the soldiers must play. The soldier is at once gun-wielding and defensive. Hamilton wanted to create the effect, in this picture, of the soldier walking backwards. It is a customary practice for British soldiers patrolling in Northern Ireland to walk back to back, some 100 yards apart, to ensure that they are covered in both directions. This idea also relates to the artist's perception that the British wish to get out of Northern Ireland. He represents the soldier as young and reluctant, a 'conscript'. Before Hamilton's birth, his father served in the British army during an earlier phase of the Irish troubles and conveyed to his son a sense of the warmth of the Irish people. Subscribe for weekly films: http://goo.gl/X1ZnEl

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Life of an Artwork: Quadrille by Rose English | Tate

In 1975, artist Rose English staged a performance in the dressage arena of the Southampton Horse Show. The audience, there to watch the equestrian events, was surprised to see a group of six dancers take to the field, dressed in costumes that resembled horse hoofs and tails. This performance now lives on, in an installation including film, photos and objects from the Show. In this film, the artist and Gates Sofer, Sculpture Conservator, discuss what it means for performance art to take on a new life inside the walls of an art museum. Subscribe for weekly films: http://goo.gl/X1ZnEl

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Ask the Artist | Questions for Anicka Yi | Tate

Artist Anicka Yi answers questions from the public about her 2021-22 Tate Modern Hyundai Commission: In Love With The World. Yi is known for her experimental work which explores the merging of technology and biology. Through breaking down distinctions between plants, animals, micro-organisms and machines, she asks us to think about further understanding ourselves as humans and the ecosystems we live in. Hyundai Commission: In Love With The World is on at Tate Modern until 6 February 2022 Subscribe for weekly films: http://goo.gl/X1ZnEl

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Emma Watson support for Palestine

Israel advocates increasingly desperate as public figures speak out

January 5, 2022

Artists for Palestine UK statement:

"We welcome Emma Watson’s statement of solidarity with the Palestinian people. It is another sign of a groundswell of change. Over the last twelve months there has been a decisive shift in global opinion. The facts of Israel’s system of apartheid have been recognised by Human Rights Watch and the leading Israeli human rights organisation, B’tselem. Israel’s attacks on Palestinians last May were met with worldwide outrage. Farewells to Desmond Tutu, who defended Palestinian rights so passionately, have reminded us of the threads that connect the Palestinian experience to struggles for liberation everywhere..."

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Hurvin Anderson – 'It’s questioning my history, my place' | Tate

Artist Hurvin Anderson shares the inspiration and ideas behind his paintings, and how he uses photography within his work. See his work in the Life Between Islands: Caribbean-British Art 1950s – Now exhibition, on at Tate Britain until 3 April 2022. Subscribe for weekly films: http://goo.gl/X1ZnEl

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