A huge new mural by Turner Prize winner Chris Ofili has been unveiled at Tate Britain in tribute to artist Khadija Saye who died in the Grenfell disaster.
The work, called Requiem, includes a portrait of Saye, as well as a weeping figure and a burning tower set against a seascape with big blue skies.
The mural, which will be in place for 10 years above the gallery’s north staircase, is described as offering “a poetic reflection on loss, spirituality and transformation”.
Ofili, who met the 24-year-old in May 2017 when they were both exhibiting work in Venice, compared the mural to a previous work, No Woman, No Cry, which he made as a tribute to Stephen Lawrence and his mother Doreen which he said was a similar “statement of sadness”.
He said: “That feeling of injustice has returned. I wanted to make a work in tribute to Khadija Saye. Remembering the Grenfell Tower fire, I hope that the mural will continue to speak across time to our collective sadness.”
Ms Saye was one of 72 people who died in the 2017 blaze that broke out in the west London towerblock where she lived with her family.
A Public Inquiry found systemic failures across the organisations responsible for building standards and safety and a criminal investigation into the cause of the fire is ongoing.
Her final messages on the night as begged friends to pray for her as she was trapped in the burning high-rise were submitted as evidence at that inquiry.
At 1.49am she posted online: “There’s a fire in my council block, can’t leave the flat. Please pray for me and my mum.”
The talented artist was trapped on the 20th floor of the tower with her mother, Mary Mendy, who also died in the blaze.
In other messages, she wrote she had tried to escape twice but the smoke was “too strong” and it was “impossible”.
