Year: 2026
Type: article
Abstract: Kinship is a fraught topic in the work of British artist Donald Rodney. From his earliest sketchbooks to his final exhibition, Rodney used concepts of relatedness, genealogy, and inheritance to connect his own family history with broader narratives of slavery and empire, Pan-African solidarity, and Black British identity. Prefiguring the recent interest in kinship in contemporary art and curatorial practice, Rodney explored human beings’ most intimate and enduring relationships and their enmeshment in broader patterns of affinity, mutual responsibility, and community. Yet he also highlighted pernicious uses of kinship terminology in British colonial education, nationalist politics, and citizenship law – leading to a more nuanced engagement with ideas of kinship than is prevalent in contemporary art discourse. As interest in Rodney’s work continues to grow, with the recent touring exhibition Donald Rodney: Visceral Canker and the publication of three important books on the artist, the aims of this article are twofold.1 Firstly, I will examine Rodney’s multifaceted engagement with familial themes, acknowledged by previous writers but not yet subject to sustained analysis. Secondly, I will propose that Rodney’s work offers a critical corrective to more benign accounts of kinship as a form of ‘connection marked by community of interests’.2 Throughout his practice, Rodney probed what anthropologists Sarah Franklin and Susan McKinnon have called ‘the amity and violence at the core of kinship’, highlighting the oppressive and exclusionary ways in which the rhetoric of kinship continues to be deployed.3 In the past five years, at least a dozen exhibitions internationally have focused on the theme of kinship, including ‘Visual Kinship’ at the Hood Museum of Art in Hanover, New Hampshire in 2025; ‘Branching Streams. Sketches of Kinship’ as part of the 15th Dak’Art Biennale of Contemporary African Art, Dakar, in 2024; ‘Kinship’ at the National Portrait Gallery in Washington DC from 2022 to 2024; and ‘Kinship’, one of three curatorial ‘entryways’ to the Liverpool Biennial in 2021.4 The wall texts and catalogue essays accompanying these exhibitions are necessarily brief, limiting their engagement with anthropological concepts of kinship.5 Within this context, the term is often used to signal themes of affinity, interdependency, care, and an expansive understanding of relatedness that moves beyond the nuclear family model. Foregrounding themes of connectivity and belonging, this curatorial turn to kinship has been offered as a welcome antidote to a pervasive sense of apathy and divisiveness.6 Yet historically, conceptions of kinship have also been weaponised to subjugate, indoctrinate, and exclude – destructive operations largely overlooked in curatorial deployments of this term. By engaging more thoroughly with anthropological theories of kinship, I hope to illuminate Rodney’s complex engagement with its violent and reparative possibilities. Rodney’s best-known work is the large-scale chromogenic print In the House of My Father, 1996–1997 (Fig. 1). Taken in the last year of his life when he was hospitalised due to the complications of sickle cell anaemia, the photograph shows a brittle house fashioned from the artist’s skin, nestled in the palm of his hand as it rests on hospital bedsheets. The house is a separate sculpture entitled My Mother, My Father, My Sister, My Brother, 1996–1997, made from the remnants of an unsuccessful skin graft and held together with adhesive tape and dressmaker’s pins. Friable and foundationless, the sculpture invites comparison to Rodney’s weakening body, while the photograph’s title alludes to a Biblical passage on the capaciousness of heaven.7 Yet besides these poignant themes of bodily precarity and spiritual endurance, Rodney’s partner Diane Symons has proposed an alternative reading of these two works that prioritises the theme of kinship evident in their titles: As a Black male whose parents and ancestors were from Jamaica, contained within the bloodlines of inheritance are the genes responsible for the artist’s illness, sickle cell anemia, and the legacies of the slave trade. Houses and wealth were built off the bodies and souls of his ancestors. This skin-house also presents a personal memorial, the result of personal and historical trauma.8 In Symons’ account, the house of skin embodies various forms of inheritance – genetic, material, and psychological – and the complex ways in which they are carried into the present. Building on her observations, I will begin by analysing Rodney’s use of the house motif, drawing on anthropological accounts of the house and its relationship with concepts of kinship, private property, and the state. Donald Rodney, In the House of My Father, 1996-97. Photograph, c-print on paper, mounted on aluminium, 122 x 153cm. Tate, London. Presented by the Patrons of New Art (Special Purchase Fund) 2001. © The Estate of Donald Rodney. Anthropologist Janet Carsten has argued that ‘for many people, kinship is made in and through the house, and houses are the social relations of those who inhabit them’.9 Whereas earlier anthropologists defined kinship in terms of blood (consanguinity) and marriage (affinity), Carsten is one of a generation of scholars who have reshaped the study of kinship by shifting their attention from overarching relational structures to the daily rituals and practices through which people become kin.10 These scholars recognise that understandings of kinship are culturally variable and not limited to the blood relationships prioritised in Western cultures.11 Besides blood, they highlight other kinds of ‘shared substance’ central to conceptions of kinship, including milk, food, and material resources.12 Houses emerge in Carsten’s research as key sites of kinship formation, offering ‘a way of grasping the significance of kinship “from the inside”, that is, thorough an exploration of the everyday intimacies that occur there’.13 Yet as Symons notes in her analysis of My Mother, My Father, My Sister, My Brother, houses are also instances of private property and the intergenerational transmission of wealth and status. They are intrinsically linked to broader economic and political structures, meaning that – depending on their inhabitants’ personal and historical circumstances – they can be experienced either as ‘anchors of stability’ or as ‘fragile, vulnerable to attack and disruption’.14 For Carsten, the house is where kinship is made and, conversely, where it can be destroyed. Her ideas offer a productive framework for considering Rodney’s recurrent motif of the house and the broader investigation of kinship throughout his artistic practice. As Richard Hylton observes in his recent monograph on Rodney, the house was a recurrent theme in British sculpture and installation art of the 1970s onwards, with artists including Bobby Baker, Permindar Kaur, Rachel Whiteread, and Michael Landy mining the associations of the domestic sphere with childhood memory, gendered labour, social class, and cultural identity.15 Yet for Rodney and other Black British artists, the house became a charged symbol of racial injustice following the New Cross House Fire of 1981 and a series of catastrophic police raids on Black family homes, including those that resulted in the paralysis of Cherry Groce in September 1985 and the death of Cynthia Jarrett one week later. These events triggered protests and uprisings across the UK in the early to mid-1980s, when Rodney was completing his undergraduate degrees at the Bourneville College of Art and Nottingham Trent Polytechnic. While still a student, Rodney became part of a group of artists exhibiting the the who became as the Art by other of the including and installation the and of the domestic it as a of and police In the of Carsten, these highlight the the house and the political of the the house to be subject to of and Rodney’s work recent on Black family in to historical of and that the British and its Rodney’s of My Father, uses the domestic to the of his from to the UK in three (Fig. the the title is by the with his and in his he the with to in the of Rodney’s was part of the of who in as to its and the of to the and were from across the to in and and to including the National and In the British the of of the UK and its on in a British their to and work in the a people from and British the offer of British and by The as the of these a colonial that an of as the and their as a of Donald Rodney, of My Father, x The Estate of Donald Rodney, London. In of My Father, Rodney used to two of with the often in Black British the this and the are the of an The the which for the used by the political the National In a Rodney that National – Black in the – been on the wall of his house in where Rodney became a of racial in his with a political the to houses to more Black and from the and the in to with the Black By the Rodney made of My Black British been the of and in uprisings across the is where the Rodney in of My Father, a by in which the domestic sphere is with than a of The of of My a to which Rodney a hand a of the The a but Rodney the to an of the slave its human a of British and the the hand is the of to Rodney to the of as the of the British in colonial the of the to a sense of and familial This was through rituals on when across the British to a to their of an In these of the in the of the slave than its as one of that and In of My Father, the hand a with Black this of to be and By the the generation of Black British to which Rodney were to not as the of which their parents but as ‘the of their to cultural In his Rodney offered a of the ways kinship terminology been to and people in British and of the to the social that in the as a an I from in the of were of and in in in a and and and By the of the into the domestic of of My Father, Rodney the of slavery to Rodney made of My Father, proposed that human of a slave the and of African family and a to of the on the work of that the of slavery not on the of people from their and but also on the of their family and the of their kinship While of the of on the of the as a form of property, that on the of property of the of the not limited the for and it familial and with an alternative of and By the of the slave into the domestic of of My Father, Rodney this and of African family and with more recent on Black British and family was one of in the who the of kinship as to of In his study and argued that throughout history and across the was to their and that their as with in or in the and that people with one those relationships by law and be at a The term to the of slavery is which not the of kinship but also the of people from their their of status. this as central to of slavery throughout was this of the slave from of and from to or other than those for by the that the of slavery its to the In British in the this was by the of a of as the the colonial whose ancestors and The from and by the on the was also a of and The family as a social has been with concepts of private property and with early of kinship including and political that the of the family a from to of that the male his or to his Yet that the of of a of a of and of and the of from to and in the of and a male and a of his the of a and as a form of property to be the not or the of which was the of the of the In a Rodney a that the relationships of not by but by the (Fig. the is than and Rodney it the that this This with its and the of slavery on African kinship in to Rodney’s 1985 drawing of the family of the House of and the House of that and from the to the early (Fig. he to of the highlighting the of and cultural across Carsten observes that the relationship the house, kinship, property, and is made in the of which that wealth as as material of inheritance and these kinds of not to when their but are enduring social by and Donald Rodney, on paper, x Donald Rodney London. The were from Diane on of the of the Estate of Donald Rodney with the by the Donald Rodney, of family and on paper, x Donald Rodney London. The were from Diane on of the of the Estate of Donald Rodney with the by the As Rodney was the and with the of the British slave the of the Within this of kinship was by law and by while people were as property, and from their Yet this of African observes the and and that her and across the to often from hand to of the and blood in a of and These than structures of relatedness are also evident in Rodney’s in his early engagement with concepts of and critical understanding of as an colonial than a Rodney’s generation to for their cultural They Black and leading to with their parents who – – to be and ‘for a of and in a of to in the of a cultural in the to which the and of the African a history in In the and the Pan-African in the of the African which he in the of British African The in by political in British throughout the In the Pan-African was held in from the and a in the for African Yet it was in the following large-scale from the and the of of the British that became a central of Black British By for people of African it offered a way of to racial injustice in the UK and and a cultural that been by the British the of African the that in Rodney’s of in as a of in by the the was on other across the and and As as highlighting the Black the the of and while the in following the police of in the previous year – a by Rodney in his installation In to political the that in in the African and in to British colonial offering a of for many Black and to the of the UK the and the early when Rodney was in his and early In Rodney in of by Black at the Art Gallery and The accompanying catalogue The was three have been of at various in These artists are from the for and throughout the who are the of racial is a to In sense of are to are to and the this ideas of solidarity, and kinship the African Rodney including The and the which his interest in the history of slavery in the as as broader of and the of In sketchbooks the of the exhibition at the Rodney on as an alternative of kinship to the of an by the British In one he the of are to be made than by and in their to a the Rodney made a series of a an of that in the Black he a Black family of (Fig. which he as of the of the the that were to become and become the of the the of the of and of from to the of the in the and through the Rodney’s as an of The of an African family or a to was by and and in the of the slave trade. was in the of kinship it the and to The slave and the what been Pan-African often the as an family across the – a in Rodney’s drawing and the by the Yet of the of relations in research and the the relationships by – through solidarity, and Donald Rodney, of Mother, Sister, on paper, x Donald Rodney London. The were from Diane on of the of the Estate of Donald Rodney with the by the The and of kinship are held in in Rodney’s installation The House (Fig. which was In a for the Rodney that the of was with and in British the is his this in The House can be to as a built on the of those it to Rodney used in from a hospital to a house on the in of which he a in a and its a made of In his Rodney this as ‘the of the the the who made the who built the to the house, this to have been in its and in to the of Black in and and Donald Rodney, The House x The Estate of Donald Rodney. term to Rodney: Visceral – The House with the publication of Black in the The of and which concepts of and kinship became central to nationalist of British in the As and the in which this is in terms which are and these associations were into and with the of the of meaning or to of the UK and were into two in the British or with a or and to The group were of while the were the of from the of and New while those of as as those from or the the 1981 British the of and three of with British citizenship carried of and that was by British than of the of kinship, these to law to exclude Black by in familial In the 1981 the its to it as as for to in the and their were or their or were to which they were entitled – in or in its of been by the it for of the to their status. people they the UK on their when they were still the 1981 people in it into that they citizenship and were In the that the British of the generation in for the and by the many they their and in while they has of to this in the which has become as the in a many people by this on their They were and of this are as they are or than Rodney’s his of and in the of has The House the exclusionary of and kinship at a when the 1981 British the citizenship of the and The to this with and but other of Rodney’s installation can be as a to that on the of kinship explored by the used a to a into the of the house that a to the of the of by the and of the in the Biblical of In African and the of were to from slavery and by the of the the of the house, Rodney to a to that ‘a people with history is a with Rodney that by their family Black people have the to the history of While to the and exclusionary uses to which has been Rodney also acknowledged its in and Rodney’s installation Visceral Canker is the of his critical engagement with the of kinship and slavery (Fig. The work was as part of the by the of which the of throughout the and early for to be in the of and can a in which and is the or the Rodney was one of artists who works in a with to slave trade. As Rodney in his was the of the who his from the in people from the for the and the of was that I to a in and the College of a of the of an ‘a in a Rodney that and his were throughout the and of the that other in the not have a and was for its social Rodney to the to ‘a the and and Donald Rodney, Visceral and Tate, London. Presented by Rodney proposed to a installation in The at a built in the as part of a the of was to the of The which in the of a of the of the human blood and one for life one for Rodney to the with a of African with British and a ‘the bloodlines and and history the of The of The be in and the in with two of two The of the and The of Rodney’s blood to that of were be these In his Rodney that the most important part of his installation be ‘a of of with its of with The artist’s blood, the he as part of his for sickle cell anaemia, be through family This installation was and this final of Rodney’s was The work Visceral Canker of which were in a on the wall of The The two central are made of with the of of and I and in Symons and her used and to research of which was by a The on a and various of in The was by a and the the form of an African Rodney’s sketchbooks that he with a from the of the family of which three with their In Visceral these are into more the of the at the and as to the by which and were In the a of is a form of property the male the in Rodney’s family the of in Visceral Canker can be to to the intergenerational transmission of wealth and and the of the as a of this was his of the of the African was to his within his own family British have been with the of of which been and to form the of on Rodney to have made to the the on a and the on who of on with the of and as has the of and was to the of and that Rodney’s The two of Visceral Canker are complex of blood and of and to the The the of I and that the they to through the two of In Rodney’s of slavery as the in the of is made and the slave in in was the and in the of the and the of inheritance and people their and their their to social relations in – of slavery as the in this to the of slavery in the that of domestic relations made in one and in the property that be and those This is the in the of contemporary life and In Visceral the blood of a of African is to British kinship and structures of as Symons of Rodney’s were off the bodies and souls of his Rodney proposed to his own blood through the of Visceral that that it to Rodney argued that the use of his own blood was key to the of Visceral from anemia, a blood to a the of the and a of the that Rodney with the of it is that the to his installation due to a of that to have his blood cell with as Rodney to use blood in the he a to the work as he his own blood and a his deployments of hospital blood and a skin Rodney as a or a made with his personal of with a to Susan of a for is a for a sculpture that Rodney in and in a (Fig. In British the term to a house or that is as a form of property, a symbol of and and a of the historical to a Yet the of the house motif throughout this practice, Rodney to a – the he become due to the of is one of a series of works in which he to the in the of In of books the it into a Donald Rodney, on paper, x Donald Rodney London. The were from Diane on of the of the Estate of Donald Rodney with the by the were for Rodney, who a with from the on with and books and the of final exhibition, in a to Rodney’s and My a of the in and into Rodney to in which have a on the of These and the the to of is in this the books or to the who uses the Rodney what to become the in his family to and to become an artist, he I was I sickle cell and I was I was I used to be at reading as a I used to drawing the in the that was one of the I in is an to Rodney’s that the that also a of artistic and As to daily with the of an blood Rodney was to the of Throughout his he his own of from to the within the broader history of the violent into Black family homes, which he as sites of that were subject to including and police the house as an symbol of property, and these throughout his practice. Yet Rodney also with concepts of kinship on a more their in of empire, and their to and to As the term continues to the on contemporary Rodney’s work shows that have the to and kinship, relational structures and in their I to and Diane Symons for Rodney’s work with as I this
Source: Oxford Art Journal
Author: Anna Lovatt
Language: English
Topic: Art, Politics, and Modernism
Subfield: Visual Arts and Performing Arts
Field: Arts and Humanities
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: hybrid
Estimated APC paid: $3,957
OpenAlex ID: W7224083156