Mission (2020) artworks by Victoria Burgher
Mission (2020) is a series of three sculptures that use African hardwood, copper, opium poppy heads, rubber and sugar to consider the colonial exploitation of people and resources. They reference the links between missionary activity and imperial expansion – the "civilising mission" that was used as a justification for colonisation.
St James's Piccadilly is an apt location for the works due to its proximity to the East India Club, which was founded for officers of the East India Company, as well as army, navy and legal officers who served in India. The church has a number of memorials to people who served in colonial territories.
Victoria Burgher is a multi-disciplinary artist whose practice ranges from sculptural installations and site-specific interventions to collaborative community projects. She is interested in art’s ability to challenge histories and a fascination with materials and process inform her approach to making. Current work uses colonial commodities to visually re-examine narratives of empire. She has a background in ceramics, but has used sugar, bread, rubber, copper, indigo, salt and bagasse, among other materials, in her installations. She has an MA from Goldsmiths College, University of London and lives and works in East London.
Image: Mission (Rubber) 2020, rubber, sugar, African hardwood, silver wire, plaster (10x10x60cm)
Photo credit: Gigi Giannella
Mission (2020) is a series of three sculptures that use African hardwood, copper, opium poppy heads, rubber and sugar to consider the colonial exploitation of people and resources. They reference the links between missionary activity and imperial expansion – the "civilising mission" that was used as a justification for colonisation.
St James's Piccadilly is an apt location for the works due to its proximity to the East India Club, which was founded for officers of the East India Company, as well as army, navy and legal officers who served in India. The church has a number of memorials to people who served in colonial territories.
Victoria Burgher is a multi-disciplinary artist whose practice ranges from sculptural installations and site-specific interventions to collaborative community projects. She is interested in art’s ability to challenge histories and a fascination with materials and process inform her approach to making. Current work uses colonial commodities to visually re-examine narratives of empire. She has a background in ceramics, but has used sugar, bread, rubber, copper, indigo, salt and bagasse, among other materials, in her installations. She has an MA from Goldsmiths College, University of London and lives and works in East London.
Image: Mission (Rubber) 2020, rubber, sugar, African hardwood, silver wire, plaster (10x10x60cm)
Photo credit: Gigi Giannella
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