Donald Rodney (b.1961 – d.1998) studied at Nottingham Trent Polytechnic, now Nottingham Trent University between 1981 and 1985. Here, he shifted from making flower paintings to a more experimental approach across a range of media addressing issues around racial identity, Black masculinity, chronic illness, and Britain’s colonial past, establishing his artistic language.
The exhibition brings together archival materials that show a snapshot of what was happening in Nottingham while Donald was here. We get a glimpse of the social and political discourse Donald was part of while he was a student. From 1982 onwards sketch books were an integral part of Donald’s practice, containing preliminary studies for new artworks, records of past exhibitions, and various writings, bringing together diverse personal, cultural, social and political influences.
In Nottingham Donald met Keith Piper, a year above him at the Polytechnic, and moved in with him and Gary Stewart who studied electronics. Together at their address 3, Lindsey Walk in Hyson Green flats (now demolished) they formed a meeting place for artists, writers and thinkers, collectivising fellow students, local people, and their wider national artistic networks.
As a student Donald was engaged in artistic activity beyond the art school, working with fellow students across the Midlands organising group exhibitions, national conferences and talks and events. Some examples are the series of exhibitions titled Pan-Afrikan Connection that took place in 1982 and 1983 in Bristol, Nottingham, Coventry and London, and The First National Black Art Convention at Wolverhampton Polytechnic in 1982. Most notably was the formation of the BLK Art Group in 1983, a collective of young Black artists and curators, which lasted about a year and exhibited in Birmingham and London. Retrospectively the BLK Art Group is named and attached to much of the activity across the early 1980s, conflating numerous iterations of the loose group of artists.
Visit Donald Rodney: Visceral Canker at Nottingham Contemporary, which has brought together all surviving artworks of Donald’s, featuring painting, drawing, installation, sculpture and digital media, until 5 January 2025.
This exhibition has been developed with the exhibitions team at Nottingham Contemporary.
Launch event
Join us for the launch of this exhibition and After the End of History: British Working Class Photography 1989 – 2024 on Thursday 26 September 2024, 6 – 8 pm. Book your free ticket now.