The First Supper (Galaxy Black), 2023, by Tavares Strachan is now on view in the public courtyard at the Royal Academy of Arts. 

Described as a monument to 12 Black figures from the 17th century to the present day, this sculpture, crafted from bronze, black patina and gold leaf, serves as a preview to the latest blockbuster exhibition Entangled Pasts 1768-now: Art, Colonialism and Change (3 February-28 April).

Strachan says in the catalogue: “In the context of sculpture, I think it’s important for us to have an archive of the stories of our folks; one that doesn’t necessarily centre Europe, Modernism or any -ism that is not indicative of us.”

The full list of figures is as follows: 
Tavares Strachan (b. 1979)
Sister Rosetta Tharpe (1915-1973)
Harriet Tubman (1822-1913)
Shirley Chisholm (1924-2005)
Marcus Garvey (1887-1940)
Zumbi dos Palmares (1655-1695)
Haile Selassie (1892-1975)
Mary Seacole (1805-1881)
Matthew Henson (1866-1955)
Marsha P. Johnson (1945-1992)
King Tubby (1941-1989)
Derek Walcott (1930-2017)
Robert Henry Lawrence (1935-1967)