Artist Che Lovelace was on his way to the coast on the Caribbean island of Trinidad to collect mud to use in carnival celebrations when he received a message that a church in the UK wanted him to create an artwork to commemorate the life of an African man he had never heard of.
Quobna Ottobah Cugoano was a respected abolitionist in 18th Century Britain - but, despite his significant role in the abolition of the slave trade and slavery, his story is not that well-known. Forced to work on a sugar plantation after two years, he was brought to Britain and managed to gain his freedom in 1772.
The descriptions come from Cugoano's own book Thoughts and Sentiments on the Evil of Slavery, in which he argues against slavery, drawing on his Christian faith and his own experiences of the trade. On 20 August 1773, 250 years ago, at the age of 16, Cugoano was baptised John Stuart in St James's Church Piccadilly, in the centre of London. But he published his book 13 years later under his original, African name
Lovelace's artwork in honour of Cugoano is being installed in the church entrance on Wednesday, 20 September. His work was "the most nourishing, exciting and appropriate for the space", says the Reverend Lucy Winkett, the rector of St James's Church.
Lovelace is an oil painter and uses rich colours and bold shapes, which joyfully and playfully depict, and are inspired by, the people and landscapes of his native Trinidad.
