In a change to the published programme, artist duo Rudy Kanhye and Lauren La Rose present All Lies Matter an installation on Portobello Promenade that draws upon the dismissive phrase “All Lives Matter” used to undermine the Black Lives Matter movement. By removing one letter from the phrase, the artists create an entirely different statement tackling centuries of lies and misrepresentations of BPOC people around the UK and the broader world. The slogan is collaged with Rudy’s print work inspired by textile patterns from India and the Blue Penny, the first stamp made by a British Empire colony, Mauritius. The work critiques and questions complex histories, misrepresentations and contemporary discourses.
Artists Rudy Kanhye and Lauren La Rose have been collaborating for the past five years, shaping their artist duo identity focusing on labour, migration, disability and the environment. Rudy Kanhye, a disabled curator, artist, and researcher from the Global majority, has a unique personal background that deeply influences his work. Born in Dijon, France, to a Portuguese mother and a Mauritian father, Rudy’s childhood dual culture, mixed-race heritage and working class background inspire his practice.
His research interests include archives, memories, and oral histories, extending this focus through Mauritius Island, the Global South and its neo-colonial relationship to the west. As a descendent of Indian indentured immigrants, Rudy experiments with collaborative, interactive artworks which re-imagine archival research, delving deeper into the collective memories of migrant communities and the role of semiotics in relation to labour, migration and the environment within a colonial diasporic narrative. His collaborative artworks re-imagine archival research, slogans, and protests. Working at the intersections of race, labour, disability and the environment, Rudy focuses on questioning and activating mixed-race diaspora and broader Indian oceanic perspectives, including the history of indentured immigration.