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Behind the Scenes: Michael Armitage

Michael Armitage

BBC Radio 4 - Behind the Scenes, Michael Armitage

British Kenyan painter Michael Armitage reveals his influences, inspiration and technique.

Michael Armitage is a brilliantly talented Kenyan-born painter whose work is rooted in the culture and social issues of East Africa but who combines this with western influences.

Michael Armitage is a Kenyan-born painter whose success has earned him exhibitions at Turner Contemporary, the Venice Biennale, MoMA in New York and, just before lockdown, at the Whitechapel Gallery in London. His work brings together the events, social and sexual issues that prevail in East Africa with his deep interest in Western painting. 

Armitage was trained at the Slade and Royal Academy and his figurative work pays tribute to masters from Titian to Manet. In the paintings, he is not afraid to confront the dark side of life - the violence of a flaying, beatings and exorcism, sexual and religious intolerance - but he sets these scenes in a wider context than one country, prompting a reflection on universal inhumanity.

In the programme, we hear about Michael's unbringing and his life shared between London and Nairobi. We also discover his use of bark cloth instead of canvas as his painting surface. The cloth is cut from the softened bark of Lubugo tree and is traditionally used as shrouds in burial. The paintings are enriched by the texture and imperfections and stitching of the bark cloth which is a constant reminder of the African-ness of the work.

The programme is presented by critic and author Charlotte Jansen.

Producer: Susan Marling.
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