Pogus Caesar

Pogus Caesar is a British artist, television producer and director. He was born in St Kitts, West Indies, and grew up in Birmingham, England.

Pogus Caesar was born on the Caribbean island of St Kitts and came to the UK at an early age, growing up in Birmingham.

A self-taught artist, Caesar took up painting seriously in his early 20s. His early work was influenced by French impressionist artist Georges-Pierre Seurat, one of the foremost exponents of the pointillist technique. While Seurat built up his compositions from a multitude of tiny coloured spots, Caesar developed his own technique by using simple pens and ink, composing his paintings with thousands of tiny dots. This minutely detailed use of a fountain pen meant that even the smaller works took several months to complete.

After a visit to New York he developed an interest in photography using a basic film camera. The outcome has resulted in 18,000 vintage negatives. Caesar often reworks the 35mm images and conceptualises them into new forms challenging the notion of religion, sex, identity and race from a Black British perspective. Significant series include 'US of A', 'Schwarz Flaneur', 'Into the Light' and 'Righting the Wrongs.'

During the early 1980s Caesar became director of the West Midlands Ethnic Minority Arts Service. He was also the first Chairman of Birmingham International Film & Television Festival. For the Arts Council of Great Britain he has curated and contributed to major shows by black British artists including Into the Open (1984) and Caribbean Expressions in Britain (1986).

During the late 1980s Caesar began working in British television – originally as a journalist on Channel 4's Black on Black, then as producer and director of entertainment, sport and multicultural programmes for Central Television, Carlton Television and BBC. Radio programmes include Mr & Mrs Smith BRMB Radio and The Windrush E. Smith Show BBC West Midlands. In 1993 he formed his own production company, Windrush Productions - programmes include I'm Black in Britain, Respect, Drumbeat and the award-winning multicultural series Xpress.

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