Spirit of Carnival

This print by Tam Joseph evokes the huge police presence at the Notting Hill Carnival of 1976, during which, as the artist puts it, 'an expression of anger and frustration erupted'.

Entitled 'Spirit of the Carnival', the print depicts a dancer in a ram costume surrounded by police officers in uniform. As they form a circle around him, the dancer is boxed in by their riot shields. In the left foreground, a ferocious police dog on a leash surges forward, teeth bared, to attack the isolated figure. His right hand has already been bitten and is bleeding profusely.

Tam Joseph was born in Dominica and came to London in the mid 1950s. After studying at the Slade School and the London College of Printing, he developed his practice as an artist and sculptor and became a member of The London Print Workshop.