The Psychic Lives of Statues

Reckoning with the Rubble of Empire

Rahul Rao

• Publisher: Pluto Press
• Year: 2025
• Print ISBN: 9780745350783
• eBook ISBN: 9780745350806
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Business
• Subtopic: Art General
• Index: Business

'An unimpeachable, erudite jewel of a book on the politics of memorialisation. This beautifully written reckoning with history shines a clear light on how far and how tenaciously the shadows of colonialism reach into our lives in the present moment. A necessary and vital piece of work' Neel Mukherjee, Booker Prize shortlisted author of The Lives of Others

'Compulsively readable. Rather than a superficial skirmish in the culture wars, the struggle over statues is about how we live with and relate to one another, and the fight over equality and dignity in the present' Laleh Khalili, Institute of Arab and Islamic Studies, University of Exeter

'A powerfully grounded and eminently thoughtful contribution to debates around race, caste, class and historical memory. At once considered and stimulating, Rao's account of how we grapple with the imperial past and present will stay standing even as statues rise and fall over the coming decades' Priyamvada Gopal, Professor of Postcolonial Studies, University of Cambridge

Statues around the world have become lightning rods for public debates over the meaning of our imperial past and postcolonial present. The Psychic Lives of Statues is an insightful exploration of these global controversies, demonstrating that beneath their surface lie deeper struggles over race, caste and the politics of decolonisation.

Rahul Rao takes readers on an international journey, revealing how these controversies have dramatically rearranged anticolonial political thought through the multifaceted lenses of justice, cultural memory and belonging.

The Psychic Lives of Statues explores both the toppling of colonial statues and the erection of postcolonial ones, illuminating how statues remain powerful and compelling forms of memorialisation. Engaging with artists, scholars and activists, Rao offers a fresh and exciting perspective on how we understand our past and present through iconography.

Rahul Rao is a Reader in International Political Thought in the School of International Relations at the University of St Andrews, and Professorial Research Associate at SOAS University of London. He is the author of two other books – Third World Protest: Between Home and the World (2010) and Out of Time: The Queer Politics of Postcoloniality (2020). He is a member of the Radical Philosophy editorial collective.

Table of contents

• Cover
• Title
• Copyright
• Contents
• List of Illustrations
• Acknowledgements
• List of Abbreviations
• 1 Fallism and the Endtimes of Apartheid
• 2 The Libidinal Lives of Statues
• 3 Mahatmas Must Fall
• 4 Statue of Impunity
• 5 The Pitfalls of Decolonial Consciousness
• 6 We Are Here Because You Were There
• Notes