Imran Perretta: the destructors

19 May-10 Oct 2021

Overview

The Whitworth presents a new 2-screen film by London-based artist Imran Perretta.

Drawing on the artist’s own experience as a young man of Bangladeshi heritage, the film explores personal and collective experiences of marginalisation and oppression. Shot on location in Tower Hamlets, East London, it reconsiders the figure of alienated male youth, exploring the complexities of ‘coming of age’ for young Muslim men living in the UK.

Working across moving-image, sound, performance and poetry, Perretta’s work explores ideas of biopower, marginality and the (de)construction of cultural histories. Recent exhibitions include All His Ghosts Must Do My Bidding, Wysing Arts Centre, Cambridge (2019) and 15 Days, Jerwood Space, London (2018). Perretta was selected for Bloomberg New Contemporaries (2014-15) and was nominated for the 2019 Film London Jarman Award. In 2020 he was one of ten artists awarded a Turner Bursary, in place of the Turner Prize 2020. He lives and works in London where he is a resident of Somerset House Studios.