Canaan J Brown

Contemporary Art Practice (MA)

The Fantastic Memoir of the Life of Lucius Alexander, A Haint - Chapter 2. Exhibited as an audio-visual installation, this is the second chapter in a 19th century fictional memoir, based on the life of a fictional Black Briton, assigned to retrieve and repatriate a stolen Caribbean sculpture from the British Museum.

The Bird-man - a Taino artefact with a contested history, upon which the narrative of The Fantastic Memoir of the Life of Lucius Alexander, A Haint, is based.

A still image from the film, The Fantastic Memoir of the Life of Lucius Alexander, A Haint. The protagonist, Lucius Alexander, discovers a mysterious museum, called The Black Archive of 19th Century Academia. in which the protagonist realises they are in a mysterious museum, called the Black Archive of 19th Century Academia.

An installation shot, from the two-screen film installation The Fantastic Memoir of the Life of Lucius Alexander, A Haint, in which the protagonist awakes to find himself in a mysterious room.

About

Canaan J Brown is a London-based artist and designer. He is passionate about storytelling, and he reframes cultural histories and societal experiences from a contemporary lens. Particularly interested by themes of cultural excellence, erasure, and displacement, he takes an imaginative, interdisciplinary approach to his storytelling in his contemporary art practice.

He is fascinated by the Black fantastic, as a lens, using fiction to critically engage with, and rethink, social realities.

Brown is interested by expanding filmmaking and creative writing – he views film as a form of collage, to converge and interweave disparate, yet connected narratives. He enjoys creating audio-visual experiences; he has used sculptures, publications, performances, and music, to activate his stories sculpturally, and spatially.

Brown creates to help elevate societal consciousness, positively influence wider communities, and help make society more equitable.

Brown’s studies at the Royal College of Art were supported by the Sir Frank Bowling scholarship, which helped catalyse his professional practice. His research, during his RCA studies, was also supported by the Louisa Anne Ryland travel bursary, which he was awarded soon after he graduated with a first-class from BA (Hons) Art and Design at Birmingham City University.

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