An esteemed London church pays tribute to Quobna Cugoano, a Ghanaian-born former slave and advocate against slavery.

Trinidadian artist Che Lovelace was on his way to collect mud for carnival celebrations when he received a surprising message. A church in the UK wanted him to create artwork to commemorate the life of an African man he had never heard of before. The man in question was Quobna Ottobah Cugoano, an 18th-century respected abolitionist who played a significant role in ending the slave trade and slavery. Despite his contributions, Cugoano's story is relatively unknown. Cugoano was born in what is now Ghana and was enslaved at the age of 13 along with 20 others while playing in a field. He was then taken to the sugar plantations on the Caribbean island of Grenada, enduring a horrifying journey across the Atlantic. After two years of captivity and cruelty, he was brought to Britain and obtained his freedom in 1772. Cugoano wrote a book in which he used his Christian faith and personal experiences to argue against slavery. He was part of the Sons of Africa, a group of black Britons who campaigned against slavery through letters to newspaper editors and Parliament. It is unknown how exactly Cugoano gained his freedom, but it coincided with a ruling by Lord Chief Justice Lord Mansfield that sending a formerly enslaved person back into slavery was unlawful. In 1773, at the age of 16, Cugoano was baptized as John Stuart in St James's Church Piccadilly in London. However, he published his book 13 years later under his original African name. To honor Cugoano, artist Che Lovelace was commissioned to create artwork for the entrance of St James's Church. Lovelace, known for his vibrant and playful oil paintings inspired by the people and landscapes of Trinidad, was surprised that he had never heard of Cugoano despite considering himself well-informed about the abolition movement. Lovelace's artwork consists of four paintings called River, Passage, Spirit, and Vision of the Birds. Each painting is divided into panels, a signature style of the artist. The inspiration for the first painting, River, came to Lovelace while he was collecting mud for carnival rituals in Trinidad. The cleansing power of water resonated with him at that moment. The second painting, Passage, depicts a female figure underwater and represents the "middle passage" experienced by enslaved Africans like Cugoano during their journey across the Atlantic. These paintings are the first permanent artwork commissioned by the "Artists' Church," as St James's Church is known. Lovelace's paintings capture a sense of emerging from water into a new tomorrow, symbolizing what the act of baptism represents. Lovelace approached the commission as a rite of passage, similar to a baptism. His artwork seeks to honor Cugoano's life and legacy and adds another layer to Lovelace's attempts to portray the complexity of Caribbean life. Rev. Lucy Winkett, the rector of St James's Church, believes that Lovelace's work not only acknowledges the atrocities of the transatlantic slave trade but also envisions a vibrant future that embraces and learns from these histories. Lovelace reflects on Cugoano's challenging journey and emphasizes the importance of being honest about the past to create a more equitable society where wounds can heal and promising futures can be imagined.