Glasgow artist Alberta Whittle closes Venice Biennale show

THE show by Glasgow artist Alberta Whittle at the Venice Biennale has drawn to a close after attracting an “unprecedented” 35,000 visitors.

Whittle is due to unveil a major exhibition at the National Galleries of Scotland on 1 April.

Her Venice film, Lagareh – The Last Born, is preparing to tour Scotland, with screenings in Aberdeen during January, Skye in February, and Ayr in March.

Whittle’s work “addresses the brutality and harm caused by colonialism in her work; the transatlantic trade in enslaved people and the ongoing climate crisis”.

“The gift of researching and making my commission for Scotland + Venice has been a keenly-felt position of responsibility,” she explained.

“From the first few weeks of March 2020 when the news was still fresh, we were waking up to a world transformed by the pandemic.

“Later in the summer, a climate of Black death both at the hands of a racist police force and the disparity of care afforded to frontline workers, folded more deeply into my everyday ways of knowing.

“The back and forth of gathering hope and compassion whilst thinking critically about abolition and change went on to shape our exhibition in Venice – and that responsibility has been shared across the team, from the commissioners and producers to the professional development programme leaders who have been care-taking the exhibition in Venice.”

Whittle, who was born in Barbados, added: “Given the context of our ongoing uncertain times, it has felt so important to open up conversations beyond our presence in Venice and think about how we can share our thinking with our Scottish communities, from Ayr to Skye, Glasgow to Aberdeen, Inverness to Shetland, and finally Edinburgh at the National Galleries of Scotland in 2023.”

Amanda Catto, chair of the “Scotland + Venice” partnership, added: “It’s been a tremendous honour to present Alberta’s remarkable exhibition at this year’s Venice Biennale and deeply moving to see the response to her work.

“As one of the most exciting artists of the modern day, we’re thrilled that her talent is being further recognised with a major solo show at the National Galleries of Scotland.”

Read more news and reviews on Scottish Field’s culture pages.

Plus, don’t miss Grant Stott’s credo in the December issue of Scottish Field magazine.