Following the decision by two collectors to pull their loans to a Barbican Centre exhibition over accusations of “censorship” after the London institution withdrew its involvement from an event related to the Israel-Hamas war, two artists are removing their works from the same show.
The French Moroccan artist Yto Barrada and the Filipino artist Cian Dayrit have requested that their works be removed from Unravel: the Power and Politics of Textiles in Art (until 26 May) at the Barbican Art Gallery, in protest against the centre’s decision last month to not host a talk by the writer Pankaj Mishra discussing Gaza and the Holocaust that was due to take place there.
On 29 February, the centre removed two quilts by Loretta Pettway from the exhibition at the request of the collectors who had loaned them, Lorenzo Legarda Leviste and Fahad Mayet. The collectors published their correspondence with the Barbican’s team, in which they accuse the centre of “censorship and repression” over pulling out of the talk and demand the quilts be taken down “in solidarity with Palestine”, online. The Barbican’s team complied and has placed a sign where the Pettway quilts were previously displayed, explaining their absence.
The Barbican confirms it will also remove two works each by Barrada and Dayrit from the show. “We respect the decision of the artists to withdraw their works from Unravel. The works will be removed from display and signage will be put in place,” a Barbican spokeperson says.
“I am requesting the removal of my art works […] following the cancellation of a London Review of Books (LRB) lecture by Pankaj Mishra about the ongoing genocide Gaza and the creeping normalization of censorship across art institutions,” Barrada writes in a statement shared with The Art Newspaper. “Today, we cannot take seriously a public institution that does not hold a space for free thinking and debate, however challenging it might feel to some staff, board members or anxious politicians. I request that the reason for my withdrawal be indicated in the gallery, echoing the statement that accompanied the withdrawal of Loretta Pettway’s quilts. I pray for peace, justice and an immediate ceasefire in Gaza. In solidarity, Yto Barrada.”
Barrada, who had a solo show at the Barbican in 2018, adds that her request “follows the decision” of Leviste and Mayet to remove their loans from the exhibition.
The Barbican confirmed there were no plans to close the show early due to the removals.
In a statement, its chief executive Claire Spencer said: “We regret that we were not able to get the necessary logistical arrangements in place to host the LRB Winter Series.” She adds that the Barbican is now “thoroughly reviewing the circumstances in which this decision was taken”. “We acknowledge there were things we should have done better in the way we handled the process […] We are sorry for the impact this has had on the artists, lenders and curators.”
