Artwork
Marcus Garvey
Marcus Garvey is a poster by Eddie Chambers. It dates from 1987 and is held in the collection of the Victoria and Albert Museum. The work is a multi‑panel poster portrait of Marcus Garley, composed of sixteen individual sections arranged in repeating groups of three.
About this work
Overview
The work is a multi‑panel poster portrait of Marcus Garley, composed of sixteen individual sections arranged in repeating groups of three. Each trio pairs a black‑and‑white photograph of Garley set against a vivid red field with a yellow mask and a green panel marked by black symbols. A continuous quotation from Garley stretches across the panels in black type on a white band.
Subject & Meaning
Central to the composition is Garley’s image, accompanied by his statement: “The world today is indebted to us for the benefits of civilisation.” The juxtaposition of the portrait, mask, and symbolic green panels underscores themes of identity, cultural heritage, and the legacy of Garley’s Pan‑African advocacy.
Technique & Style
The poster employs a stark, graphic aesthetic: thick, scraped‑on paint creates bold facial forms that contrast sharply with the dark background. Bright reds, yellows and greens are set against black, while the text is rendered in clean black lettering on a white strip, giving the piece a high‑contrast, poster‑like immediacy.
History & Provenance
Produced for the Greenwich Mural Workshop’s 1986 exhibition titled *Printing is Easy…?*, the poster was created as part of a series exploring printmaking techniques. It remains documented in the Victoria and Albert Museum’s collection of contemporary poster art, illustrating the workshop’s engagement with political and cultural subjects.
Context
The 1980s saw renewed interest in Garley’s ideas within the UK’s Black British cultural movements. By presenting his image alongside bold graphic elements, the work reflects the period’s activist visual culture, linking historical rhetoric to contemporary calls for social recognition.
Artist & collection
Artist
Eddie Chambers made screen-printed posters that put bold text and striking portraits on public walls.
