Lauren Haywood

Artist Profile

Lauren Haywood
Black British painter, sculptor, and illustrator
Lauren Haywood is a black British painter, sculptor, and illustrator, based in London. Her body of work consists of thought-provoking paintings, sculptures, installations, and even performances, each of which offer powerful insight into the intersection between blackness and womanhood. Drawing upon her personal history and rich Caribbean heritage, she works to generate meaningful critiques regarding the unique issues of identity experienced by British West Indians. These issues stem from the forced migration of Africans to the British West Indies throughout the Atlantic Slave Trade, and the voluntary migration of generation Windrush (to which her grandparents belong) from the West Indies back to Britain. Incorporating materials ranging from chocolate to marble dust into her work, she is able to create wondrous (and sometimes edible) experiences that uplift black women, while also capturing the struggles of constructing a contemporary, black female identity post-colonialism.