Alberta Whittle
Single Channel Video, Stereo + 5.1 surround, 43 mins, 2022
Music, Sound Design and Sound Mix by Richy Carey
‘Lagareh’ – which translates from the Mandinka language as ‘The Last Born’ – is a work anchored around theories of abolition, rebellion, ancestral knowledge and love. Shot in Scotland, England, Barbados, Sierra Leone and Italy, the film combines poetic sequences with documentary filmmaking. Alberta takes the audience on a journey through place and time, exploring the connections between these global locations, their histories and our current times, addressing the devastating legacies of the transatlantic slave trade and the systems of racism that remain in our contemporary world.
The soundtrack was composed in collaboration with Matthew Arthur Williams, with both Alberta and Matthew staying with us to work in the studio together on its composition. The soundtrack is made from flutes and clarinets, kalimbas and drum machines, poetry and percussion, and weaves documentary interviews amongst dance, mournful laments and ancestral summonings.
Lagareh - The Last Born was co-commissioned by Scotland + Venice and Forma and presented at the 59th Venice Biennale in 2022.