Arnolfini to host UK premier of John Akomfrah's 'Vertigo Sea'
12 November 2015
Vertigo Sea, John Akomfrah's critically acclaimed three-screen film installation first seen at the 56th Venice Biennale as part of curator Okwui Enwezor's 'All the World's Futures' exhibition, will make its UK premier at Arnolfini in Bristol in January 2016.
The film is a sensual, poetic and cohesive meditation on man's relationship with the sea and an exploration of its role in the history of slavery, migration and conflict. It fuses archival material, readings from classical sources and newly shot footage to explicitly highlight the greed, horror and cruelty of the whaling industry. This material is then juxtaposed with shots of African migrants crossing the ocean in a journey fraught with danger in hopes of a "better life", thus delivering a timely and potent reminder of the current issues around global migration, the refugee crisis and slavery.
Vertigo Sea is currently on show at the Bildmuseet in Umeå, Sweden, until 17 January 2016.
Akomfrah has recently been nominated for the prestigious Artes Mundi, the UK’s largest art prize, the winner of which will be announced in January 2017. His debut exhibition at Lisson Gallery, featuring new and recent works, will open on 22 January 2016.
