As the final hours of the year unfold on London’s Cork Street, time flows along a very different, alternative line at Tiwani Contemporary. The third chapter of Umar Rashid’s (Frohawk Two Feathers) monumental 12-part epic The Epoch of Totalitarianism, titled “The Civil Wars and the Uncivilized Wars (See Power)”, pulls us from the dusty shelves of history and drops us right into the heart of a fictional empire stained with coffee, tea, and ink. In this alternate universe spanning 1658 to 1880, Rashid constructs a modern mythology by blending colonialism and power struggles with hip-hop lyricism and popular culture references.
In Rashid’s so-called “Frenglish Empire”, the early Napoleonic Wars unfold on uneasy ground where Admiral Lord Honoré Nelson is portrayed as both saviour and pirate. Scenes stretching from Genoa to Hong Kong, from Cape Town (referred to by the artist as Francisabad del Sud) to Goa, examine how wars deemed “civilised” in Europe transformed into “savage” conflicts in the rest of the world. While mimicking the past with the aged texture he achieves on paper using coffee and tea, the artist infiltrates today’s social dynamics into the depths of history through references such as “New World Africans” (N.W.A).
One of the exhibition’s most striking metaphors, the “Mysore Rocket”—a weapon developed in South Asia and later copied by Europe—represents the bloody exchange of violence and innovation between empires. Rashid’s brush documents not only battlefields but also ambition, betrayal, and how ideals of freedom were turned into tools of conquest, all with sharp humour. The works’ long, narrative titles make the viewer feel as though they are wandering through the pages of a meticulously crafted novel rather than standing before mere paintings.
Continuing until 17 January 2026, this exhibition reminds us on the last day of the year that history is not a linear truth written solely by victors—it can be reimagined at any moment through the power of imagination. The polyphony Rashid creates reopens discussions on race, class, and power balances while inviting the viewer to find their own place within this fictional panorama. Amid the dignified quiet of Cork Street, looking at history under the “crimson glow” of the Frenglish Empire from this angle promises a mind-opening experience.
