Stacey Tyrell

Meticulously researched, Tyrell’s images work to visualize the complex and violent histories of race as a social construct.  In several projects the Black artist transforms her appearance into historical or imagined white woman characters, such as the mythological female personifications of countries used to legitimize colonialism.

Person in a patriotic costume with an American-themed shield and sword, wearing a helmet with red feathers.
Person in white dress holding a shield with Canadian flag and a golden maple leaf staff
A person wearing a red dress and laurel wreath, holding a laurel wreath in one hand and a heraldic shield with castles and lions in the other.
A black and white historical photograph depicting twelve individuals in prison uniforms holding signs with identifying information, standing and sitting against a wooden building wall. The image likely dates back to the early 20th century.
Image of historical documents from the Former British Colonial Dependencies, Slave Registers, 1813-1834 for Nevis, specifically from the years 1817 and 1822, listing names and details of enslaved individuals.
Black and white photograph of an elderly man wearing a white traditional headwear and clothing.

  • Columbia from Pour La Victoire 2016

    Canadiana from Pour La Victoire 2016

    Research image: Britannia Giving Freedom to Poor African Slave,

    Courtesy of the British Library

    Hispania from Pour La Victoire 2016

    Process images [two sketchbooks]

    Research image: Prisoners Serving Sentences for Obeah at Antigua Gaol, Courtesy of the National Archives UK

    Research image: Registry of Slaves in the Island of Nevis 1817, Courtesy of Ancestry.com

    Bu’n Dem, 2020 [video]

Stacey Tyrell (b.1978) is a photo-based conceptual artist. She was born and raised in Toronto, Canada to parents of Nevisian heritage. She attended OCAD University where she majored in Photography. Her work explores the interplay of race, heritage, immigration, and identity as it pertains to post-colonial societies and the Caribbean Diaspora. Her images have appeared in shows at the Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art, the Royal Ontario Museum, the Power Plant Contemporary Art Gallery, and the Canadian Museum for Immigration.

Her work is part of the Royal Bank of Canada Fine Art Collection, the Center for Photography at Woodstock and the Wedge Permanent Collection. Her images have also been featured in such publications as The Focal press Companion to the Constructed Image, LensCulture, Wasafiri Literary Journal, MFON: Women of the Diaspora, Canadian Art, Prefix Photo, Feature Shoot, Pictures From Paradise: A Survey of Caribbean Photographers, Renewing Feminisms and See Me Here: A Survey of Contemporary Self-Portraits from the Caribbean.