Investigations in Black Representation: with contribution from Art History and Cultural Practices lecturer
Alice Correia from the Department of Art History at Cultural Practices at The University of 野狼社区 has contributed an essay to the catalogue for the current exhibition by Barbara Walker on display at the Whitworth Art Gallery.
Being Here is the first major solo exhibition from artist Barbara Walker. Charting the engagement with figuration and portraiture since the 1990s, the exhibition opened at the Whitworth Art Gallery in October 2024.
Alice Correia, our Lecturer in Modern and Contemporary Art History, has contributed an essay to the catalogue accompanying the exhibition, in which she positions Walker鈥檚 work with narratives of British art in the 1990s.
Alice addresses the ways in which Walker and other artists of colour were often overlooked and excluded from the hype of 1990s BritArt. Correia discusses how Walker鈥檚 work is driven by extensive research, during which the artist excavates and engages with the histories of Black representation in art history and the contemporary news media.
Barbara Walker is a remarkable artist; her intricate drawings convey the social realities of being Black and British. It was an honour to write for the catalogue that accompanies her exhibition at the Whitworth.
Alice took a group of First Year Art History students to the Whitworth to consider Walker鈥檚 use of drawing as a method for contesting racist stereotyping, and the group was fortunate to have a special introduction to Walker鈥檚 work by the exhibition鈥檚 curator Hannah Vollum, in the Whitworth鈥檚 Study Centre.
Edward Wouk, Head of Art History and Cultural Practices (AHCP) said:
It is fantastic to see Alice鈥檚 work on display. Alice鈥檚 collections-based approach to teaching, her research profile in the study of Black British art, and her extensive curatorial experience have brought added vitality to our Art History programme. This is one of many examples of the close and vibrant collaborations between AHCP and the Whitworth.
Further information
Barbara Walker was born in Birmingham, England, in 1964. She studied at the University of Central England, Birmingham, and completed post-graduate studies at Wolverhampton University. Her work is informed by the social, political and cultural realities that affect her life and the lives of those around her.
Growing up in Birmingham, her experiences have directly shaped a practice concerned with issues of class and power, gender, race, representation and belonging. Her figurative drawings and paintings tell contemporary stories hinged on historical circumstances, making them universally understood and reflecting a human perspective on the state of affairs in her native Britain and elsewhere.
In 2023 Walker was elected to the Royal Academy of Arts and shortlisted for the Turner Prize.
Walker's show at the Whitworth is her first major retrospective exhibition in the UK.