Chris Ofili's mural honoring Grenfell Tower victims unveiled at Tate Britain

A major new site-specific work by Chris Ofili (Manchester, 1968) was unveiled today at Tate Britain in London: it is titled Requiem and is a tribute to the victims of the Grenfell Tower fire in London. The devastating fire, which was caused by a short circuit and broke out on the night of June 14, 2017 in the skyscraper located in the North Kensington neighborhood, claimed the lives of 72 people and injured 74. The work aims to offer a poetic reflection on loss, spirituality and transformation.

Anglo-Gambian artist Khadija Saye (Hammersmith, 1992 - London, 2017) also lost her life in the fire. Chris Ofili met Khadija Saye in May 2017 while both were exhibiting in Venice. A month later, Saye died in the flames of Grenfell Tower. Memories of their meeting had a profound impact on Ofili, which helped him find a path to create the Requiem mural. The finished work opens to the public today after private tours for Saye’s family and the Grenfell community earlier this month.

Requiem is a journey through an imaginary landscape of giant skies with vast horizons and running water, unfolding in three chapters. On the left wall is a bowed figure representing a prophet or witness. He holds the burning tower as if he were performing a ceremony of loss, and his tears fall in an ocean of despair. Khadija Saye is shown in the center of an energy force high on the central wall. Her pose is from her 2017 work Andichurai, a silkscreen print of which is also on display at Tate Britain. The Gambian incense jar she holds symbolizes the possibility of transformation through faith. To the right is a heavenly landscape of hope and peace, where two mythical beings play in the shade of a tree. The entire composition is united by water, which represents collective grief and connects Venice, London and Ofili’s home in Trinidad.

In making this work, the artist recalled the feelings he had when he made No Woman, No Cry in 1998 as a tribute to Stephen Lawrence and his mother Doreen. For Ofili, "a statement of sadness manifested itself in No Woman, No Cry. That feeling of injustice came back. I wanted to make a work in homage to Khadija Saye. Remembering the Grenfell Tower fire, I hope the mural will continue to speak to our collective sadness over time."

Chris Ofili's mural honoring Grenfell Tower victims unveiled at Tate Britain

Warning: the translation into English of the original Italian article was created using automatic tools. We undertake to review all articles, but we do not guarantee the total absence of inaccuracies in the translation due to the program. You can find the original by clicking on the ITA button. If you find any mistake,please contact us.