Exhibition reconsiders Caribbean artefacts' colonial histories

An art exhibition focusing on overlooked histories has opened in Bristol. The exhibition, created by artist Jessica Ashman, is called "Those that do not smile will kill me: Decolonising Jamaican Flora." It aims to challenge how historical artefacts from the Caribbean were collected. Ashman worked with the Bristol Museum & Art Gallery to research its collections. She highlighted the stories connected to these objects and their original owners. According to Ashman, many artefacts were removed from their true contexts, losing their meaningful histories. Her research centered on two 18th-century biologists. Arthur Broughton, a Bristol native, collected plant specimens in Jamaica, while Priest John Lindsay arrived in Jamaica in 1758 and created an illustrated book of local plants and animals. Both men used the knowledge of enslaved Africans to aid their work. Ashman emphasizes that their work was not innocent. It took place during a time of slavery and exploitation. The exhibition runs until July 27 at the Bristol Museum and Art Gallery, encouraging visitors to reconsider the impact of colonialism on cultural artefacts.