Hank Willis Thomas

For Hank Willis Thomas, art is a means to visualise a message. As the co-founder of For Freedoms, Thomas is widely known for his boundary-pushing public art projects and collaborative approach. Black history and social activism soak into many different mediums in his work, including sculpture, photography, appliqué, film and installation. Growing up as part of the “MTV generation” and as the son of photographer and art historian Deborah Willis, Thomas mixes pop culture references with archive research. Whatever the concept needs is the form the art will take. In Thomas’s own words: “I care more about ideas than medium”. His most cherished idea? Love. For Thomas, love is a form of social liberation – offering a radical tool for learning, healing and hope.

This hope, however, is balanced with the reality of oppression, especially in the legacy of the transatlantic slave trade. Branded (2003) is a photographic series of Black men’s bodies with scars shaped like the emblematic Nike tick. The scars, digitally imposed to disconcertingly real effect, reference the dehumanising practice of branding during slavery. On the other hand, Unbranded: A Century of White Women, is a series of found media photographs of women and actors including the likes of Carrie Bradshaw from Sex in The City. Layering connections between history and its images, Thomas reminds audiences that the past is a site to learn from and that – when working collectively – we can use love to build a hopeful future.