Barbados born and Glasgow based artist Alberta Whittle’sfilm Lagareh–The Last Born, that draws focus on anti-racist, pro-Black advocacy and Scotland’s historic connections to Transatlantic slave trade, returns to Scotland fresh from the 2022 Venice Biennale.
Following its highly praised presentation as part of Whittle’s World Premiere exhibition of new work at this year’s Venice Biennale, which is one of the world’s most prestigious visual arts festivals, the film gives primacy to the strength of contemporary Black women in Europe, West Africa and the Caribbean. These interconnected geographies, which formed ‘triangular route’ in the colonial era, are employed to reflect upon the traumatic legacies of chattel slavery, and its enduring impacts upon modern day policing and incarceration.
Commissioned by the Scotland+Venice partnership and Forma, LUX Scotland is touring the film to six venues across Scotland (details below), with a programme of invited speakers at each location from September 2022 to March 2023, with support from Art Fund.
The Glasgow screening will be followed by a conversation between Alberta Whittle and Dr Peggy Brunache, who is lecturer in the history of Atlantic slavery at the University of Glasgow and Director of the newly established Beniba Centre for Slavery Studies.
Director of LUX Scotland, Kitty Anderson, said “We are thrilled to be sharing Alberta’s work with audiences across Scotland, and to launch this tour in Glasgow where Alberta lives and works. The Scottish tour provides a wonderful opportunity to explore the key ideas in Alberta’s practice, and to extend the conversation to include the voices of some of her collaborators and others that have influenced her practice.”
The film is part of a wider body of work – deep dive (pause) uncoiling memory – currently being exhibited in Venice until November 2022 and featuring tapestry created in collaboration with Dovecot Studios and sculpture created in collaboration with Glasgow Sculpture Studios.
Scottish Screening Tour Dates are listed on the website. Tickets for all screenings are free, with wheelchair accessible tickets available. The film and all discussion will be live captioned. Full details and how to book can be accessed at LUX Scotland.
The film’s premiere is the prelude to a six venue Scottish screening tour that in turn precedes a major solo show at the National Galleries of Scotland in Spring 2023 that will explore Whittle’s practice in depth, including works from the Venice exhibition.
Full information about Whittle’s work and that of the Scotland + Venice partnership can be found at the Scotland + Venice website
Irene Brown
Radio Summerhall Arts 