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REVIEW: Tate Britain Commission Alvaro Barrington: Grace

The neo-classical Duveen Galleries at Tate Britain have been transformed !


Grandma's Caribbean Shack

Alvaro Barrington has swept through the vaulted halls with his immersive, multi-sensory installations paying homage to three very important women in his life - his grandmother Frederica, a close friend and sister-figure, Samantha and his mother Emelda.


Laid out as three acts the first gallery is a multi-media recreation of his grandma's corrugated roofed caribean shack. Listen to the failing rainstorm as you take shelter on plastic covered ratan sofa's draped with plastic quilts, postcards and drawings.





As you step away from the rainstorm you are confronted by a four-metre-high jewelled festival queen surrounded by steel drums and fellow festival revellers.


The final gallery has two stunning stain-glass windows which shine brightly through to a boarded-up corner kiosk made to the exact dimensions of an American prison cell. Highlighting the fear of his mother raising a child on the troubled streets of New York City it feels almost cathedral-like.


This is Barrington's largest commission to date. It's very powerful and moving. Go!


By Julia Colls 29 May 2024


Free for all to enjoy to 26 Jan

Tate Britain

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