PREVIEW

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Headline: Trafalgar Square fourth plinth: Statue of Malawi’s John Chilembwe unveiled

Caption: The new Fourth Plinth Commission Antelope by Samson Kambalu was unveiled on Trafalgar Square's Fourth Plinth today (28Sep22). Antelope restages a photograph of Baptist preacher and pan-Africanist John Chilembwe and European missionary John Chorley as a sculpture. The photograph was taken in 1914 at the opening of Chilembwe’s new church in Nyasaland, now Malawi. Chilembwe has his hat on, defying the colonial rule that forbade Africans from wearing hats in front of white people. A year later, he led an uprising against colonial rule. Chilembwe was killed and his church was destroyed by the colonial police. On the plinth, Chilembwe is larger than life, while Chorley is life-size. By increasing his scale, the artist elevates Chilembwe and his story, revealing the hidden narratives of underrepresented peoples in the history of the British Empire in Africa, and beyond. This is the 14th commission in the Mayor of London’s Fourth Plinth Programme.

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