2013/04/17 by Eddie Chambers · 1 citation
Arts and Humanities · Social Sciences · #Caribbean history, culture, and politics #Music History and Culture #Race, History, and American Society
paper · doi:10.1080/14714787.2013.782156
openalex publication_date 2013/04/17 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/29
This article explores some of the ways in which the act of rioting has been visualized, firstly within reggae music and secondly within the work of several black British artists. The article begins with a consideration of images of burning buildings that were captured during the course of the riots in England in the summer of 2011, before briefly discussing some of the pitfalls in the terminology and language of the ‘riot’. The article discusses the somewhat counter-cultural view of rioting as reflected in reggae music, and the profoundly empathetic view of rioters that is arguably advanced in the work of several key black British artists, across several generations. It argues that the works it discusses do much to shed light on why any given riot, involving black people, takes place.