Christopher Cozier is a Trinidadian artist, writer, and curator whose practice critically examines the lingering effects of colonialism and globalization on the Caribbean region. Working across several artistic mediums, like drawing, installation, video, and performance, Cozier’s oeuvre offers dialogic spaces for nuanced, poetic, and sometimes ironic explorations of the world and everyday life from a Caribbean perspective.

Deeply rooted in drawing, which remains a central element in his practice, his pieces often resemble storyboards or visual essays, which, when looked at closely, display layered compositions that suggest movement through time and space and reference both history and the present. Functioning both as mirror and map – reflecting the complexities of Caribbean existence while charting new pathways for thought and action – Cozier’s works invite viewers to confront uncomfortable histories, question inherited narratives, and imagine alternative futures grounded in self-definition and cultural critique.

For the 36th Bienal de São Paulo, the artist presents a newly produced work titled After the Appeal Will Come the Next Delivery (2025). Inspired by childhood memories of listening to cricket commentary, the piece consists of several pennant flags, each carrying a sign or pattern. Recognizable amongst the myriad of drawings is the “appeal gesture” – commonly known as “howzat” – performed by a fielder (or fielders) toward the umpire during a cricket game.

Referring to a crucial decision-making process, an appeal usually symbolizes the decisive moment before a batsman is given out or not, and the game can be resumed. Particularly engaging, the piece, beyond its aesthetics, serves as a metaphor whereby parallels can be drawn between aspects of the game and the mechanisms that define and regulate societal interactions, such as unfairness, power dynamics, among others. Additionally, symbols such as human figures and text fragments – characteristic of Cozier’s unique artistic and visual language, developed over time – recur, inscribed primarily on red, green, and black pennant flags – colors that recall liberation struggle movements across the African continent and the Middle East.