Walker Art Gallery announces new art installation by Karen McLean

Walker Art Gallery is proud to announce Stitching Souls: Threads of Silence, a brand-new installation by British-Trinidadian artist Karen McLean.

This powerful new work, opening 28 September, is one of the gallery’s newest acquisitions and serves as a poignant memorial to the victims of the tragic Zong Massacre of 1781.

Created in partnership with a community of sewers from Birmingham, McLean’s home city, Stitching Souls honours the 132 enslaved African people, thought to include 54 women and children, who lost their lives when they were thrown overboard from the Liverpool-owned slaving vessel Zong. The ship’s crew, claiming water shortages, murdered the enslaved people aboard who were dehumanised and registered as cargo. The vessel’s owners, a syndicate of Liverpool businessmen, then pursued insurance claims for these deaths, illustrating the slave trade’s inhumane practices. The lives and identities of those who drowned remains unknown.

The installation comprises 132 heads crafted from authentic African fabrics such as Kente, Aso-Oke, and mud cloth, using traditional quilting techniques. The materials highlight direct links to cotton produced by enslaved people, revealing slavery’s economic and human toll. One person is believed to have survived the massacre and an additional head is included in the display, representing the resistance and strength of all enslaved people.

Through her work, McLean explores Liverpool’s colonial legacies and the city’s role as a UK port that was a major participant in the transatlantic slave trade during the 19th century. Drawing inspiration from the Walker’s collection of merchant portraits, the artist sheds light on the origins of Liverpool’s wealth and its direct links to slavery and the cotton trade. The installation features two replicas of the Walker’s merchant portrait collection, symbolising the barriers in confronting and understanding this history. Alongside this, a set of empty frames represent the absence and silencing of the victims’ stories, questioning how historical narratives are told and the role of art in revealing hidden and suppressed truths.

'Stitching Souls: Threads of Silence - Walker Art Gallery

Stitching Souls: Threads of Silence continues Walker Art Gallery’s commitment to exploring diverse perspectives and addressing challenging historical narratives. Karen McLean’s installation emphasises how these atrocities have been silenced throughout British history and explores their lasting impact on today’s society. The artist, who has been collaborating with Walker Art Gallery since 2023, uses the act of stitching and sewing to create a platform for healing, dialogue, and reflection. Each stitch represents a deliberate and thoughtful effort to mend the wounds of history, honouring the legacy of quilting as a form of storytelling, creativity, and community-building deeply rooted in Southern and African-American traditions.

Karen McLean has undertaken an artist residency at Walker Art Gallery as part of the 20/20 project. The project was led by University of the Arts London (UAL) Decolonising Arts Institute and supported by funding from Arts Council England, the Freelands Foundation and UAL.

Karen McLean said:

“With Stitching Souls: Threads of Silence, my focus has been on exploring the Walker’s portrait collection. The gallery’s collection consists of grand formal portraits of Liverpool’s aristocrats showcasing their wealth and power – I have responded by creating a work that will transform abstract historical data into a tangible narrative that will redress historical erasure and silence.  

 My sculptures interrogate the representation of the city’s wealthy merchants and their obscured histories of exploitation and the suffering to which they contributed. Stitching Souls aims to engage viewers in a thought-provoking exploration of the incomplete narrative, power and inequality. Through the act of stitching, I hope to contribute to healing and a deeper exploration of these histories.” 

Alex Patterson, Assistant Curator of Fine Art at National Museums Liverpool, said:

“Working with Karen over the few past years has been an extraordinary experience. Her work explores the many silenced histories connected to the Walker’s portrait collection.  

 Historically these portraits have celebrated local merchants and politicians whose wealth was made from slavery. Liverpool’s role in the Transatlantic slave trade is well-known, but often we remember these atrocities from a western perspective.  

 Karen’s work challenges these narratives, re-centring the African people whose lives and identities were lost through enslavement. Through the act of stitching and sewing she creates a space of remembrance, honour and reflection, inspired by African tradition and heritage.”   