ABSTRACT
This chapter discusses some of the manifestations of multiculturalism, as they appear in a recent work by the black artist Sonia Boyce. Her work is very much part of a discourse that questions an ethnic self living within political structures, which define black art in Britain today. She uses an explicit relationship to political subject-matter to challenge the formalism that is, arguably, still the dominant aesthetic of modern art in Europe and the culture of the West. The chapter explores the significance of postmodernism for the art practice of black people and demonstrates how this relates to the postcolonial and multicultural dimensions of contemporary culture. If we consider Frederic Jameson's essay Postmodernism and Consumer Society, the breakdown of temporal continuities makes room for new experiences and multiple identities. In the 1980s a shift from global to multicultural identities became discernible, and this offered opportunities for black artists to explore new forms and practices in their work.
