Alberta Whittle: The Axe Forgets, But The Tree Remembers
Wednesday 17 January 2024, 6.30pm – 8.30pm
The Byre Theatre, St Andrews, KY16 9LA
Pay What You Can £7.00 / £5.00 / £3.00. Students can use the discount code – STUDENTAXE – for one ticket per purchase.
Please book via the Byre Theatre website.
As part of the Crafted Selves exhibition at St Andrews Museum (until 24 February 2024), Fife Contemporary presents the Scottish premier of The Axe Forgets, but the Tree Remembers at the Byre Theatre; the St Andrews Centre for Contemporary Art is delighted to be a supporter of this event.
Alberta Whittle’s film commission The Axe Forgets, But The Tree Remembers is a multi-voiced portrayal of members of the Windrush Generation and their descendants with material sourced from the Hackney Archives.
In The Axe Forgets, But The Tree Remembers, Whittle dissolves the notion of time and space, connecting different narratives, archival material and artworks through hurricanes, the sea and naval history. Together, these references to water play a central role with their symbolism and poignancy to Windrush migration. The dramatic and unsettling backdrop also sets the tone for her conversation with Hackney resident Janice Knight, whose legal battle for justice for the police brutality experienced by her family reflects on the state of uncertainty and precarity which continues to be felt by the Black community today.
This screening will be followed by an in-conversation event featuring Alberta Whittle in collaboration with the Crafted Selves exhibition curator, Cat Dunn, and Jillian Sutherland, Lecturer in the School of Art History at the University of St Andrews.
Find more information on the film and the speakers here.
Running time: 1h 30m (52m screening followed by a post-screening Q&A)
Ages 12+
This film includes violence and themes of racism and grief which may be triggering.