The New Brunswick 5 memorializes a 1786 wanted ad issued by the slaveholder Caleb Jones in what is today Fredericton, New Brunswick. Calling for the recapture of five Black North Americans whom Jones claimed as his property, the ad–of which there were countless other examples in 18th century British North America–demonstrates the normalcy of slavery in what is today Canada. Some of this country’s earliest Black settlers were enslaved people yet their histories, dating back 400 years, have been conspicuously absent from the national narrative. 

Visually, the lightbox photograph resembles an ad one might see at the mall or bus stop.  Artists Camille Turner and Camal Pirbhai appropriate the look of fashion photography to reimagine the freedom seekers as part of the contemporary world, setting off on their journey to freedom. The work includes the 1786 wanted ad’s original description of the clothing worn by Isaac, Ben, Nancy, Flora, and Lidge. 

Turner and Pirbhai have been working collaboratively since 2012. Their photo-based projects often explore hidden histories, Canadian identity, and Afrofuturism. In 2022 the Jamaican-born, Los Angeles-based Turner received the Artist Prize at the Toronto Biennial of Art. Pirbhai, a textile artist, is lead designer and principal of Studio la Beauté in Toronto.This represents the first time this work, which was acquired in 2022, has been exhibited at Museum London.

Image: Camille Turner and Camal Pirbhai, The New Brunswick 5, from Wanted series, 2011-2018. Colour photograph on vinyl, light box. 172.5 x 119.5 cm. Purchase, John H. and Elizabeth Moore Acquisition Fund, 2022.