Listening session: Free Abel

"Free Abel was born out of a question. When Majik inquired whether the gallery had any works by Black artists, they were told the collection included just one piece by Elsa James and two paintings of people of color created by white artists. One of those paintings, The Enslaved Man, was created by a white woman who also illustrated Alice in Wonderland. This paradox — a white artist’s portrayal of a Black subject — made me question the assumptions tied to this artwork. The portrayal of Abel as a slave painted by a white woman in a position of power has long been taken as fact, but what if that narrative was wrong?

The painting, now in storage and deteriorating from neglect, represents something larger: a metaphor for how Black artists have been historically disregarded. The work’s degradation is a quiet, painful reflection of systemic erasure. What if we flipped the narrative and saw Abel not as a passive victim, but as a patron — someone giving the white artist an opportunity, a chance in a patriarchal world that would otherwise deny her? What if Abel understood that he was the one who could offer her a breakthrough?

These questions fuel Free Abel — a speculative, revisionist reimagining based on the title of the painting. The accompanying soundscape weaves in jazz records from the 1920s, a nod to the cultural landscape of Black Americans, juxtaposed with the curious absence of Black artists in the gallery’s collection. The music calls out, echoing the vitality of Black creativity often overlooked in the white-dominated art world. Additionally, the soundscape for the film draws on the journey Abel might have taken, simulating his movement from Ethiopia to England, with influences from the Azmari musicians of Ethiopia and even a playful rendition of the Ethiopian national anthem.

Free Abel! is an invitation to reconsider history, question assumptions, and reframe the stories we’ve been told."

Sound Design by dot.i

Story by Monica Mehengat

Narrated by Martin Osman

Film by dot.i & Baris Ucar

Film Soundscape by dot.i

Please note that young people under 16 must be accompanied by an adult.

If you have any access needs, please let us know on [email protected]

Event Venue & Nearby Stays

The Living Room, A House for Artists, 36 Linton Road, Barking, United Kingdom

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