A photoessay for a time of plagues: Fons Americanus.

With museums and galleries closed around the world it has become near impossible to assess art other than from a virtual context. We therefore have chosen to post one of our rare photoessays, this one on a work of art that speaks to the turbulent times.

Last year the Tate Modern installed the breathtaking Fons Americanus, Kara Walker’s allegorical critique of empire and the slave trade. The large sculpture is modelled, appropriately enough, on the Victoria monument outside Buckingham Palace and in the artist’s words “yokes together racist representation and violent expression of power.”

These photographs represent our modest record of the exhibition.