Arcadia by Sir John Akomfrah

Witness the impact of the Columbian Exchange in this multi-screen installation by John Akomfrah.

From the 1400s onwards, the world saw the mass movement of plants, people, animals, precious metals, commodities, technology, diseases and ideas between the Americas, Afro-Eurasia and Europe.

Accompanied by a striking soundtrack featuring nature sounds, opera and poetry, Arcadia explores the lasting environmental and social impacts of this exchange.

Across five screens, breathtaking imagery of deserts, ice fields, mountains and restless seas are interrupted by decaying ships, disease, cargo and symbols of cross-continental trade.

Through Arcadia, Akomfrah asks how migration, colonialism and empire have shaped the planet, its people and its natural environments alike. You're invited to reflect on the entanglement of human histories with the natural world and the legacies of those transformations today.

Programming in our Jerwood Gallery is supported by Jerwood Foundation.