An artist who spent his youth in Oxford after moving from the Caribbean has had his work included in an exhibition at the Tate Britain.
A number of pieces by Barbados-born artist and educator Paul Dash are featured in the Tate Britain’s exhibition Life Between Islands: Caribbean – British Art 1950s – Now.
The ‘landmark’ exhibition explores the work of artists from the Caribbean who made their home in Britain, alongside other British artists whose work has been influenced and inspired by Caribbean themes and heritage.
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Mr Dash moved from Bridgetown in 1957 when he was 11 and joined his parents, who had already migrated two years earlier, in the city.
He described the inclusion of his work in the exhibition as an “incredible experience” and “absolutely mind blowing”.
He 75-year old, who now lives in London, said: “There is a self-portrait of me which is really being celebrated as one of the most important pieces of art produced by a black artist until the advent of the black art movement in the 1980s.”
Despite the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic, he feels in terms of his artwork the last year has been “transformational” and the “best year” of his life so far.
Alongside the Tate buying two of his paintings he has also been contacted by a number of other galleries which are interested in showing his work.
Mr Dash believes his work was influenced by his experiences of growing up in Oxford in an “indirect way”.
Mr Dash recalled he used to paint Oxford’s buildings from memory in his youth and one of his painting’s featured at the Tate, Talking Music, depicts a scene in his family home in the city.
However, his experiences of the city were marred by the racist attitudes of the time.
He told the Oxford Mail that when he moved to the city he was “dumped” in Cowley St John School which he “hated” and called an “awful place”.
At the time the school split students into two streams based on ability and Mr Dash and his brother were the only black pupils.
Mr Dash said: “They decided on one look at me, because I was from the colonies and black, to chuck me into the bottom stream where I should not have been. I was doing work far in advance of kids around at primary school in Barbados.
“I was left to vegete for four years, the quality of teaching was poor, they kept me at the bottom throughout my school career.”
This situation was echoed when he studied at Chelsea College of Art and became teacher, again where he was the only black person.
However, it was when Mr Dash was in his third year that his talent for painting “emerged”.
He explained: “I do not know where it came from, it just emerged. In Barbados it was one of the things we did not have, we did not have art, so I had to learn everything in this country.”
Having his work recognised in the way it has in the last year has been “unbelievable” for the artist.
He said: “It has taken a long time for people – even black artists or people involved in academics and studying black art – to ‘see me’ but I have been there all the time producing work.”
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