LIFE-size painted figures go on display at the Hatton Gallery in Newcastle this month in an unusual exhibition by the artist Lubaina Himid.

This new collection, entitled Naming the Money, was commissioned by the gallery and will feature 100 figures, making it the largest cut-out collection ever undertaken by the artist.

It continues her theme of exploring issues of forgotten histories, race and identity - and promises to be visually spectacular and stimulating, especially as visitors will view the work to the accompaniment of an operatic soundtrack.

For this show, the artist negotiates the terrain between European colonial history, contemporary cultural politics and strategies for text and image.

The figures are groups of African slaves/servants, dressed in sumptuous clothes designed to signify immense wealth and gathered as if for a celebration.

They have come to tell their story. Ceramicists, painters, herbalists, shoe makers and dog trainers speak of their past histories as kings and warriors, while drummers, viol da gamba players, dancers, map makers and toy makers assume an air of poetic determination.

Lubaina Himid is essentially a history painter, and this immense work is an attempt to get to the bottom of the dilemma of losing your identity, being saddled with another and having to somehow make sense of being alive in a world where you are invisible.

During the past 20 years, she has exhibited widely in Britain and internationally, with solo shows at Tate St Ives, Transmission Glasgow, Chisenhale London, Peg Alston New York and St Jorgens Museum, Bergen.

The exhibition opens on Saturday, January 17, and runs until March 13. Opening hours are: Monday to Saturday, 10am-5pm; admission free.