Forbes art practice includes photography, painting and sculptural installations. His work explores his individual and cultural existence and its relationship to history… and is influenced by the interwining / parallel relationship between Europe and Africa and its impact on world history and contemporary life. Re-appropriating images and objects help him discuss areas of interest, such as diversity and difference, whilst acknowledging history for all its foibles and achievements. The Black Diaspora plays an important part in his thinking in relation to social / political issues around education, intellectual poverty, race, masculinity, exclusion, and wealth – which manifest itself in a range of his work. Forbes has been working on a number of photographic projects over many years, and would like to develop these, into exhibitions and book formats, including Carnival... beyond the glitz of the parade. This work draws on the tradition of the African masquerade and the 16th Century European Carnevale, which came together in the Caribbean and evolved further in the UK, with particular focus on events surrounding the sound systems.
