Aubrey Williams came to the U.K. to avoid persecution for his part in Guyana’s independence movement against British rule. Although the British would later support independence, after the People’s Progressive Party won the elections in 1953 the British suspended the constitution and installed undemocratically elected leaders. William’s works focus on pre-Columbian culture and history. He incorporates indigenous symbolism and ideas about artistic practice that he learnt from the Warao people when he was working in the Barima-Waini region of Guyana. Alongside this, William’s work has influences of Abstract Expressionism, which originated in the U.S.A.

Image: 'Untitled' study for a larger painting (A/GUYA/105)