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Mnemosyne was the mother of the Nine Muses, and the personification of memory in Greek mythology. Akomfrah’s tone poem is split into verses named after her daughters: Tragedy, History, Music, Sacred Song, Astronomy, Comedy, Erotic Love and Dance. The piece uses a vast array of archival material to hauntingly recast and retell the experiences of post-war immigrants – resuscitating the now familiar images of our multicultural and diasporic histories.

Single channel HD colour video, 5.1 sound

45 minutes 6 seconds

This acclaimed film dealing with issues of migration dating from the 1950’s includes one spoken racist term that some visitors may find offensive. It’s inclusion in the film is in keeping with the subject matter explored in Mnemosyne.

Image credit: Mnemosyne, 2010. © Smoking Dogs Films; Courtesy Smoking Dogs Films and Lisson Gallery.