TORONTO.- This fall, visitors to the Royal Ontario Museum are being greeted by a breathtaking large-scale montage that completely transforms the Museum's main-floor gallery.
ROM unveiled Unbound: The Allegorical Archipelago of Abya Yala, an original work by celebrated French-Caribbean artist Raphal Barontini, on view in the Hyacinth Gloria Chen Court from September 26, 2026, to August 29, 2027, as part of the 2026 Toronto Biennial of Art – the first time the Museum has participated in the Biennial.
Visitors can view the installation free of charge during ROM's Free Main Floor pilot from September 25 to November 30, 2026, making this new artwork accessible to all.
Soaring above ROM’s famous Futalognkosaurus dinosaur in Chen Court, the installation consists of five immense hand-dyed and screen-printed panels that tell the story of migration, resilience, and cultural exchange. Inspired by the concept of Abya Yala (a term for the Americas derived from Indigenous solidarity movements), Barontini’s work weaves together images – from water gods to anti-slavery heroines – to recount tales of Black and Caribbean histories.
Developed with collaboration with ROM’s Curator of Global Africa, Tandazani Dhlakama, Barontini – an internationally acclaimed visual artist whose practice combines photography, screenprinting, painting, and digital prints – incorporated dozens of images from the Museum’s extensive collections (including objects from the Global Africa, Canada, Ancient Greece and Rome, South America, and Natural History collections) to create Unbound, his largest installation to date.
“The idea was to create ‘counter-allegories’ of the Americas through re-contextualizing past images to build out a narrative that invites a deeper exploration of under-represented histories,” artist Raphal Barontini says. “Unbound takes iconic imagery we find in the museum and encourages the viewer to reconsider whose stories get told – and how.”
Blending archival imagery, mythology, and cultural memory, Unbound celebrates stories from Africa, the Caribbean, and the Americas that have travelled across oceans and generations. Heroic figures emerge throughout the installation as symbols – or allegories – of resilience, liberation, and exchange, creating a work that is both visually spectacular and deeply resonating.
From a Roman sculpture reimagined as a Caribbean freedom fighter to compositions representing the history of the Underground Railroad while incorporating patterns from the enduring traditions of North American quilt-making, each striking panel of Unbound offers a visual feast layered with meaning and complexity.
“Through thought-provoking imagery, artists like Raphael give us language to address challenging histories,” says Tandazani Dhlakama, ROM’s Curator of Global Africa. “Historical archives and collections are so central to his practice and through his monumental work, Raphael finds enticing, accessible ways of amplifying important liberation figures. At the same time, the objects in ROM’s collections hold incredible stories – which is why we were excited to invite Raphael to use our collections as a starting point for this new work.”
Remarkable and relevant, Unbound – co-curated by Toronto Biennial of Art 2026 curator Allison Glenn – boldly interrupts the status quo of an encyclopedic museum, inviting contemplation and thoughtful conversation on the legacy of historical omissions and histories of resistance.
Unbound: The Allegorical Archipelago of Abya Yala opens on September 26 and will be free to all ROM visitors this fall during ROM’s Free Main Floor fall pilot, running September 25 to November 30, then included with general admission from December 1, 2026, to the installation’s close on August 29, 2027.
Acclaimed French-Caribbean artist Raphal Barontini was born in Saint-Denis (France) and currently lives and works in Paris. His works are held in major international collections and have toured around the world.
Barontini’s primary works – which combine painting, photography, textiles, silkscreen, and digital collage to create monumental banners, tapestries, and installations – challenge the historical interpretation surrounding cultures and territories marked by slavery or colonization.
Through vibrant, layered works, Barontini – who draws on his own mixed Caribbean and European heritage in his practice – celebrates overlooked figures and cultural exchange while examining power, memory, identity, and belonging.
