William Kentridge, Royal Academy review ★★★★★

Big, bold and political are the three words that can be used to sum up the art of William Kentridge – it’s definitely the case for his Royal Academy exhibition that’s gone all in on an ambitious install that finds the main galleries looking completely different when compared to the Summer Exhibition it hosted before.

On entering visitors are confronted by Kentridge’s early drawings and these huge pieces show that the artist has always worked at scale. Using animals as substitutes for politicians, the hyena in bed with a beautiful woman takes on a different meaning and references to sleaze and corruption are peppered throughout the show – including a film and drawings dedicated to a fictional heartless capitalist named Soho Eckstein.

Given Africa’s colonised past it’s also an important topic for South African artist Kentridge, from the imagined view of Africa that Europeans held of beautiful landscapes without people, to a large tapestry of migrants traveling across a map of France to highlight the ongoing legacy of colonialism.

William Kentridge, Video still from Notes Towards a Model Opera, 2015.Three channel HD film; 11 minutes 14 seconds. Courtesy the artist © William Kentridge

The artist’s multi-layered works span drawings, tapestry, film, a puppet show and even an opera – with the galleries adding to the atmosphere as the largest space’s walls are covered in blackened cork giving the room an earthy smell to immerse visitors within his gritty world. Filling a large space with five films does surround us with Kentridge’s work but it can also be distracting to follow one narrative when the others are in the same eyeline and vying for attention.

William Kentridge uses his work to take aim at major issues including colonialism, capitalism and political corruption and there’s so much research that underpins each work it can often leave behind someone new to the artist’s work – and particularly for his films a bit more context would be helpful to make them hit home for the Kentridge novices. It won’t stop anyone enjoying this important exhibition, but may prevent as rich an experience as could have been.

A few minute’s walk from the Royal Academy, Goodman Gallery is hosting an exhibition of Kentridge’s latest work that’s centered around a five screen film that charts the history of Russia, from the death of Lenin to the death of Stalin, accompanied by the music of Russian composer Shostakovich. It’s another captivating film and a reminder that Kentridge is still producing great works today.

William Kentridge at Royal Academy of Arts. 24 September - 11 December, £22-£24.50.
William Kentridge: Oh to believe in another world at Goodman Gallery. 1 October - 12 November, free.