Tam Joseph: Beam Me Up, Sweet Lord

About

Dominica-born British painter, sculptor and graphic designer Tam Joseph emigrated from the Caribbean to London in 1955 at the age of eight. He studied at the Central School of Art and Design London (1967), followed by a short period at the Slade School of Fine Art before leaving to travel in Europe and the Far East. Joseph subsequently graduated in Typographic Design from the London College of Printing. While working for the magazine Africa Journal in the late 1970s and early 1980s, he travelled extensively in Africa, commenting: ‘I have never felt any tangible difference between me and the peoples of Africa south of the Sahara.’ In the 1970s, Joseph worked with the Keskidee Centre Collective North London, a hub for African and Afro-Caribbean politics and arts. Joseph’s practice often combines humour with serious political narratives to challenge contemporary realities and their inherent contradictions. Awareness, diaspora, identity, and World history remain recurrent themes. Selected exhibitions include Caribbean Art at the Crossroads, El Museo del Barrio, Studio Museum in Harlem and Queens Museum (2012), No Colour Bar: Black British Art in Action 1960-1990, Guildhall Art Gallery, London (2015-16), and Life Between Islands, Tate Britain (2021-22) and Art Gallery of Ontario (2023-24).

Tam Joseph’s work is represented in many public collections including the Arts Council Collection, Tate and V&A.

The book ‘Tam Joseph – I Know What I See’ provides an extensive survey of the artist’s work, published by Four Corners Books in 2023.

b.1947 Roseau, Dominica
Lives and works in London, England