The concept of cultural appropriation, or “the act of taking or using things from a culture that is not your own”, is a controversial topic guaranteed to provoke polarising debate.
Recently, the National Portrait Gallery added a trigger warning to its photographs and portraits of T.E. Lawrence, also known as Lawrence of Arabia. Visitors are now advised that these reflect “attitudes and viewpoints of the time”. Two Daily Telegraph columnists voiced contrary opinions, though both ultimately subsumed the issue into an attack on Free Palestine activists, impeding our understanding of the historical context.
