Tavares Strachan is an artist whose vast interests and varied approaches have led to the creation of an encyclopedia, one of his most notable works. Published in 2018, this 2,400-page volume features 15,000 entries on people, events, and places significant to our history but not covered by the Encyclopedia Britannica. This unique book-sculpture challenges the narratives we commonly accept.
Hailing from Nassau, Strachan is a prominent conceptual artist today. His first monograph, released this month by Phaidon, explores his extensive body of work over the years.
Strachan’s work frequently addresses themes of colonialism and historical omissions, while also engaging with contemporary and future issues like climate change and space exploration. These themes inspired him to establish the Bahamas Aerospace and Sea Exploration Center (BASEC) in 2018. In the same year, BASEC launched a 3U satellite into a three-year solar orbit, highlighting the story of Robert Henry Lawrence Jr., the first African-American astronaut in a national space program.
The monograph’s release aligns with Strachan’s exhibition, The Day Tomorrow Began, at The Pizzuti in the Columbus Museum of Art in Ohio, running until January 3. Strachan sees book creation as part of a historical tradition of sharing knowledge. “When you make a book, you are participating in this very long historic lineage of bookmaking and sharing information,” he says, noting the spiritual link between presenting work in person and in print.
Copies are available at the Colossal Shop.
