Skip to main content

Alberta Whittle - Lagareh - The Last Born

Alberta Whittle took a while to get to the Venice Biennale with her film, Lagareh - The Last Born. Originally commissioned before the world closed down due to the pandemic, Lagareh finally made the trip as part of the Barbados born, Glasgow based artist’s deep dive(pause) uncoiling memory exhibition that formed the Scotland + Venice 2022 programme. Focusing on Scotland’s connections to the Transatlantic slave trade as well as more contemporary losses of Black lives to racist violence, Lagareh has now come home, as Whittle’s labour of love tours cinemas for a series of screenings that began in September. 

 

This is the film I've wanted to make for a long time,’ says Whittle of Lagareh. “I arrived in the UK the year Stephen Lawrence was murdered, and that always stayed with me. I remember when Sheku Bayoh lost his life, how that shook me even further, and for a long time, I wanted to find some way to really speak of these groundbreaking moments that shake you to your core.’

 

With Whittle’s film, tapestry and sculptural output acclaimed in Scotland and elsewhere, Spring 2023 sees a major overview of her work set to be held in Edinburgh at the Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art.

 

It's the biggest show I've ever done,’ Whittle says. “It's absolutely terrifying, but I'm so excited, because you don't often get to see a full spectrum of your work together.’ 

 

This is vindication for Whittle’s advocacy of the Black experience through her art.

 

I've been doing work about decolonial practices and abolition for a really long time,’ she says, “and I have really noticed the conversation change from when I first started making this work. People were like, why are you talking about this, and said that no one would be interested. Now, I've really seen the conversation move on, and I think there's a greater sense of self-reflection that is possible. So I am optimistic. I think we have to just hold on to hope, and really think about these ideas in a very loving and critical way.’

 

Lagareh can be seen at Mareel, Shetland Arts, Lerwick, 27thNovember; Broadford Village Hall, Isle of Skye, 11thFebruary 2023; Ayr Town Hall, 1stMarch 2023. 

 

ends

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Losing Touch With My Mind - Psychedelia in Britain 1986-1990

DISC 1 1. THE STONE ROSES   -  Don’t Stop 2. SPACEMEN 3   -  Losing Touch With My Mind (Demo) 3. THE MODERN ART   -  Mind Train 4. 14 ICED BEARS   -  Mother Sleep 5. RED CHAIR FADEAWAY  -  Myra 6. BIFF BANG POW!   -  Five Minutes In The Life Of Greenwood Goulding 7. THE STAIRS  -  I Remember A Day 8. THE PRISONERS  -  In From The Cold 9. THE TELESCOPES   -  Everso 10. THE SEERS   -  Psych Out 11. MAGIC MUSHROOM BAND  -  You Can Be My L-S-D 12. THE HONEY SMUGGLERS  - Smokey Ice-Cream 13. THE MOONFLOWERS  -  We Dig Your Earth 14. THE SUGAR BATTLE   -  Colliding Minds 15. GOL GAPPAS   -  Albert Parker 16. PAUL ROLAND  -  In The Opium Den 17. THE THANES  -  Days Go Slowly By 18. THEE HYPNOTICS   -  Justice In Freedom (12" Version) ...

Big Gold Dreams – A Story of Scottish Independent Music 1977-1989

Disc 1 1. THE REZILLOS (My Baby Does) Good Sculptures (12/77)  2. THE EXILE Hooked On You (8/77) 3. DRIVE Jerkin’ (8/77) 4. VALVES Robot Love (9/77) 5. P.V.C. 2 Put You In The Picture (10/77) 6. JOHNNY & THE SELF ABUSERS Dead Vandals (11/77) 7. BEE BEE CEE You Gotta Know Girl (11/77) 8. SUBS Gimme Your Heart (2/78) 9. SKIDS Reasons (No Bad NB 1, 4/78) 10. FINGERPRINTZ Dancing With Myself (1/79)  11. THE ZIPS Take Me Down (4/79) 12. ANOTHER PRETTY FACE All The Boys Love Carrie (5/79)  13. VISITORS Electric Heat (5/79) 14. JOLT See Saw (6/79) 15. SIMPLE MINDS Chelsea Girl (6/79) 16. SHAKE Culture Shock (7/79) 17. HEADBOYS The Shape Of Things To Come (7/79) 18. FIRE EXIT Time Wall (8/79) 19. FREEZE Paranoia (9/79) 20. FAKES Sylvia Clarke (9/79) 21. TPI She’s Too Clever For Me (10/79) 22. FUN 4 Singing In The Showers (11/79) 23. FLOWERS Confessions (12/79) 24. TV21 Playing With Fire (4/80) 25. ALEX FERGUSSON Stay With Me Tonight (1980) ...

Myra Mcfadyen - An Obituary

Myra McFadyen – Actress   Born January 12th 1956; died October 18th 2024   Myra McFadyen, who has died aged 68, was an actress who brought a mercurial mix of lightness and depth to her work on stage and screen. Playwright and artistic director of the Royal Lyceum Theatre, Edinburgh, David Greig, called McFadyen “an utterly transformative, shamanic actor who could change a room and command an audience with a blink”. Citizens’ Theatre artistic director Dominic Hill described McFadyen’s portrayal of Puck in his 2019 production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream at the Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre in London as “funny, mischievous and ultimately heartbreaking.”   For many, McFadyen will be most recognisable from Mamma Mia!, the smash hit musical based around ABBA songs. McFadyen spent two years on the West End in Phyllida Lloyd’s original 1999 stage production, and was in both film offshoots. Other big screen turns included Rob Roy (1995) and Our Ladies (2019), both directed by Mi...