an Essex-based artist is prompting reflection on three centuries of British participation in the transatlantic slave trade through her new exhibition.

Elsa James recently unveiled “It Should not Be Forgotten” at Firstsite museum in Colchester, aiming to “exposing the atrocities of this history”.

The exhibition includes colonial archive records, photography, soundscapes, and mixed media.

James told the BBC, “The work is melding all of those fragmented bits of history together using new media.”

“It’s a response to what this history has done to people in the African diaspora – that rupture and erasure.”

The exhibition features text screen prints giving voice to two enslaved women documented in the journals of British plantation owner thomas Thistlewood.

James said, “I tried to give the women a voice that wasn’t abused, but a voice of their own.”

“As humans, I’ve given them back their humanity and womanhood.”

Visitors can also see a large-scale photographic installation inspired by American academic Christina Sharpe, large images created with choreographer Seke Chimutengwende, and drawings, photomontages, and collages.

James stated: “It urges audiences to reflect on three centuries of Britain’s involvement in the trafficking of African people – recognising it as a crime against humanity that has led to racist ideologies that still impact Black people today.”

The exhibition, “It Should Not Be Forgotten,” seeks to address the lasting impact of the transatlantic slave trade through various artistic mediums.