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John Akomfrah

3 of 8 portraits by Pogus Caesar

© Pogus Caesar/ OOM Gallery Archive. All Rights Reserved. DACS/ Artimage

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John Akomfrah

by Pogus Caesar
digital gelatin silver print, 1985
9 7/8 in. x 13 3/4 in. (250 mm x 350 mm) image size
Purchased, 2019
Photographs Collection
NPG x200716

Sitterback to top

  • John Akomfrah (1957-), Artist, writer, film director, screenwriter, theorist and curator. Sitter in 3 portraits.

Artistback to top

  • Pogus Caesar (1953-), Photographer, conceptual artist, archivist, author, curator, television producer and director. Artist or producer of 8 portraits.

This portraitback to top

Photographer Pogus Caesar remembers: 'We were in the city centre and some young boys were riding bikes, John asked if he could have a go, they agreed. This was during the 1985 Handsworth riots. Capturing that moment of joy after so much tension had unfolded, was very important to document.'

Placesback to top

Subjects & Themesback to top

Events of 1985back to top

Current affairs

55 people die in the Manchester air disaster when a British Airtours Boeing 737 bursts into flames after an aborted takeoff at Manchester International Airport.

Art and science

Bob Geldof and Midge Ure organise Live Aid, a rock concert in London and Philadelphia, to raise funds for famine relief. The biggest names in popular music, including Paul McCartney, Queen, Status Quo, The Police, Mick Jagger, David Bowie, U2, The Who, and Led Zeppelin, performed to a TV audience of 1.5 billion.
The British Antarctic Survey discovers a hole in the ozone layer above Antarctica.

International

Reformer Mikhail Gorbachev comes to power as first secretary of the Soviet Communist party. He calls for 'glasnost' (openness) in Soviet life, and pursues a policy of 'perestroika' (reconstruction).
French intelligence operatives sabotage Rainbow Warrior, the Greenpeace vessel. The ship was leading a protest against French nuclear testing in New Zealand when it was bombed and sunk, killing one of the twelve on board.

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