Michael Armitage, Curfew (Likoni March 27 2020) (2021). Oil on Lubugo bark cloth. 250 x 350 cm. Courtesy Ocula. Photo: Annabel Downes, Ocula Advisory.
Exhibition View: Michael Armitage, Amongst the Living with Seyni Awa Camara, White Cube Bermondsey, London (21 September–30 October 2022). Courtesy Ocula. Photo: Annabel Downes, Ocula Advisory.
Exhibition View: Michael Armitage, Amongst the Living with Seyni Awa Camara, White Cube Bermondsey, London (21 September–30 October 2022). Courtesy Ocula. Photo: Annabel Downes, Ocula Advisory.
Michael Armitage, Three Boys at Dawn (2022). Oil on Lubugobark cloth. 220 x 300 cm. Courtesy Ocula. Photo: Annabel Downes, Ocula Advisory.
Michael Armitage, Dandora (Xala, Musicians) (2022) (detail). Oil on Lubugo bark cloth. 220 x 440 cm. Courtesy Ocula. Photo: Annabel Downes, Ocula Advisory.
Michael Armitage, Head of Koitalel (2021). Oil on Lubugo bark cloth. 65.5 x 50.3 cm. Courtesy Ocula. Photo: Annabel Downes, Ocula Advisory.
Michael Armitage, Witness (2022). Oil on Lubugo bark cloth. 170.5 x 220.5 cm. Courtesy Ocula. Photo: Annabel Downes, Ocula Advisory.
Michael Armitage, Amongst the Living (2022) (detail). Oil on Lubugo bark cloth. 220 x 420 cm. Courtesy Ocula. Photo: Annabel Downes, Ocula Advisory.
Michael Armitage, Dandora (Xala, Musicians) (2022) (detail). Oil on Lubugo bark cloth. 220 x 440 cm. Courtesy Ocula. Photo: Annabel Downes, Ocula Advisory.
Michael Armitage has an innate ability to meld narratives and materials to tell the stories of his native Kenya.
Armitage paints on Lubugo cloth, the traditional Ugandan bark cloth. What is particularly magical about this show is the way the artist incorporates craft techniques and natural material properties into his visual narratives: upon closer inspection, you can see how his stitching acts as veins along vines and branches, while in other areas, it creates divisions between embracing individuals across his compositions.
Michael Armitage’s paintings and drawings are shown alongside the sculptures of artist Seyni Awa Camara. Hand-modelled with earth that is mixed into a clay, Camara’s totemic sculptures give shape to the stories, observations, and feelings she has experienced as a Senegalese woman.
Amongst the Living, with Seyni Awa Camara is open at White Cube Bermondsey from 21 September to 30 October 2022.
Main image: Michael Armitage, Amongst the Living (2022) (detail). Oil on Lubugo bark cloth. (220 x 420 cm). Courtesy Ocula. Photo: Annabel Downes, Ocula Advisory.
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