“There is a humility in sitting as an act of rest in starched white cotton garments, envisioning my ancestors labouring in endless fields…knowing who I belong to, a race of people who are the true and living architects of this nation”

– C.Rose Smith 

In the 19th century, cotton was one of the world’s most profitable commodities, built on the forced labour of millions of enslaved Africans. The plantation system that cultivated this crop formed the basis of monumental economic advancement and progress.

C. Rose Smith’s evocative black-and-white self-portraits centre on the white cotton shirt, a powerful symbol of both exploitation and respectability. Her images are set in opulent antebellum homes in Tennessee, South Carolina, and Louisiana, sites enriched by cotton plantation wealth.

Despite their meticulous restoration and transformation into tourist destinations, these homes still echo the violence and anguish tied to chattel slavery. Smith’s Talking Back to Power series explores the dynamics of visibility and authority, reclaiming Black visibility within spaces of historic oppression.

Opening Hours : Wed-Fri 11-6pm | Thu 11-9pm | Sat 12.30-6pm

Image © C. Rose Smith