New Display, Book & Events
We are delighted to announce the acquisition and display of contemporary artist Jacqueline Bishop’s The Keeper of All The Secrets at London’s historic Queen’s House from 15 February 2025.
This project has been developed in partnership with Royal Museums Greenwich, as part of Culture&’s Time, Space and Empire programme.
Bishop’s powerful and groundbreaking ceramic work engages with the artist’s Jamaican heritage, the traditional Caribbean figure of the market woman and the history of women using plants to control their own bodies to resist enslavement during colonial times.
The Keeper of All The Secrets (2023), Jacqueline Bishop. Photography by Natalia Janula.
The artist explains, “Abortion remains contested to this day as the recent Supreme Court ruling in the United States demonstrates [Roe v. Wade 1973 which legalised abortion in the USA was overturned in 2022] and even on the island of Jamaica abortion remains illegal. Consequently, trafficking in plants that could aid in abortion was illegal for both the market woman and the woman seeking to end an unwanted pregnancy. In this way the market woman became the “The Keeper of All the Secrets”: She had to be secretive enough to protect herself as well as the girls and women she was helping. All of this is showcased in a tea set outlined in gold making the point that enslavement, colonialism, slavery gave rise to luxury commodities enjoyed in Europe as in this tea set.”
The story behind… The Keeper of All The Secrets
Watch the conversation between artist Jacqueline Bishop and historian Stella Dadzie about the influences behind ‘The Keeper of All The Secrets’.
NEW BOOK | The Keeper of All The Secrets: Ceramic Art, Botanicals and the Caribbean Market Woman
|
Parallel Events at Royal Museums Greenwich
|
|
Talk: Bodily Autonomy – A right not an ideology Join us for a panel discussion as we explore the significance of bodily autonomy and why for women, especially Black and Indigenous women, reclaiming knowledge of our cycles, fertility, and traditional reproductive practices is crucial if we want to have power and ownership over our bodies. Inspired by artist Jacqueline Bishop’s The Keeper of All The Secrets tea service on display in the Queen’s House, the discussion will cover:
 Dr Kesewa John, Love Hannington, Akosua Paries-Osei blacbotanic , Sakli Laurence Sessou , and Tinuke from 5 X More
|
Sips of Wisdom Workshop
|
Celebrating the knowledge of African Caribbean herbs for women’s health
