Sonia Boyce on René Magritte, Lygia Clark, and the Art of Improvisation | UNDER THE INFLUENCE

Why It Matters

Boyce’s approach reframes contemporary practice around collective authorship and the limits of visual identity, challenging curators, critics, and institutions to rethink how art represents communities and how credit and voice are assigned. Her work and commentary illuminate debates over representation, collaboration, and artistic responsibility in today’s art world.

Summary

Sonia Boyce describes play and improvisation as central to her art, crediting early encounters with feminist collectives and teachers for steering her toward social, collaborative practices. She cites Lygia Clark’s participatory experiments and René Magritte’s skepticism about representation as touchstones for work that sets up scenarios and resists strict direction. Boyce discusses her piece For You Only You, which juxtaposed experimental vocalism and a Renaissance choir, and explains how she embraces surprising outcomes and negotiated authorship when working with others. She also reflects on critiques about race and appropriation, arguing that expectations about representation can be limiting and that transparent appropriation can be a deliberate strategy.

Original Description

In this episode of Under the Influence, London-based artist and icon of the British Black Arts movement Sonia Boyce highlights the importance of improvisation in making work and professes her love for Lygia Pape, Lygia Clark, and René Magritte’s The Treachery of Images. A piece of advice? The criticism that hurts the most can sometimes be most true.

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