Beyond the Hold, 2025
Beyond The Hold, 2025
Twenty-nine Colorado prints on Phototex
1485 x 2722.5 mm, each
This immersive photographic and sound installation engages with Christina Sharpe's (2016) writing on the enslaved ship’s hold. It explores 'the hold' not solely as a site of confinement and death but also as a profound representation of the resilience deeply embedded in the human spirit.
View the twenty-nine photographic images here; explore the accompanying audio here
Commissioned by Firstsite as part of the solo exhibition It Should Not Be Forgotten, 2025. Funded by Arts Council England, Firstsite and Trevor Fenwick. With support from the Royal College of Art.
Credits:
Movement director: Seke Chimutengwende; Photography: Liv Pennigton; Print: Omni Colour. Installation photos: Jayne Lloyd
Exhibition history:
2025 - Firstsite, Colchester, UK
Elsa James © 2026. All Rights Reserved.




