Henry Robinson is a Jamaican-born and bred, Ugandan-based visual artist who uses his different experiences in film and photography from the Caribbean, United Kingdom, and now Africa to create a fascinating artistic journey. Growing up in a predominantly black country, where he learnt to play, love, and laugh within the tapestry of black faces in black spaces, Henry’s artistic mission is to capture the black body in myriad forms.

While collaborating with commercial partners like Puma, Google and Spotify, Henry’s creative vision has also found a home in the pages of Plantain, Prazzle magazines, newspaper spreads, and in exhibitions in cities of London, Kingston and Kampala. Through his lens his goal is to shed light on the rich diversity and beauty inherent in the black experience, inviting viewers to explore his stories that shape this captivating narrative.

I have been keenly following Mr Robinson’s work since 2020 when he was based in East London and seen his editorial projects span from Jamaica and London and now to Africa. His move to East Africa from East London where we first connected represents two key streams from the Migration and Memory Exhibition I co-curated for Christie’s this September. The overarching theme is Migration and Memory and the two strands I used to select works are “We can survive anywhere”, which represents a sentiment and attitude of the diaspora thriving in new territories around the world. The second strand was The Return Home, representing the diaspora search for belonging in returning home to a known land/country and also in tracing ancestral lineage to visit a country with ancestral links for the first time.

Robinson’s portfolio as a whole spanning across Jamaica, UK and now, Africa, firmly represents the key strands explored under the Migration and Memory theme. I selected The Soft Side of Boxer Bernard Bortey, Ghana 2024 not only because it is striking and gives audiences insight into the boxing culture of Ghana but also because I know Henry has traced his ancestral lineage to Ghana and his sharing of his findings also represent areas he is discovering about himself and the new communities he has found home in.

— Kanaiza, co-curator Migration and Memory Exhibiton for Christie’s London