About this artwork

Lubaina Himid has painted two women sitting in a small boat on choppy waters. Where do you think they are going? What do you think they are leaving behind? Have you ever had to make a difficult journey?

Himid is known for rewriting histories. In her art, she reuses old stories and tells them in different ways and from a different perspective. This picture of two women in a boat has the same title as an etching by a Victorian artist, James Tissot, which shows a man sitting in a boat between two women. Why do you think Himid has used the same title but changed the story so that there are two figures instead of three? What do you think the title means? Have you ever had to choose between two things you really wanted?

This painting is on display at Tate Britain.