Her paintings and drawings take months of research into neglected archives, and are the result of empathetic and intense observations;
Barbara Walker’s arresting figurative works represent Black stories, histories and contributions to Britain in astonishing and evocative detail. “I’m very interested in visibility and non-visibility in terms of marginalised communities. I use erasure as a metaphor for how the Black community is overlooked, ignored, and even dehumanised by society.” Walker has said.
Being Here at The Whitworth is Walker’s first major survey, and presents over 70 extraordinary artworks made over 25 years, including rarely seen paintings, her Turner Prize nominated drawing series Burden of Proof (2022-23), and a newly commissioned printed wallpaper Soft Power (2024) inspired by the Whitworth’s collection and paying tribute to the Windrush generation, who Walker has continued to represent in her work. Also presented are major series Private Face (1998-2005), Louder Than Words (2006-09), Show and Tell (2008-15), Shock and Awe (2015-20), Vanishing Point (2018-ongoing).
Walker’s breath taking oeuvre ranges from delicate, intimate graphite drawings on archival documents to the monumental charcoal wall drawings she is celebrated for, but her themes are persistent and urgent – immigrant, Black life, and challenging what art history tells us about our past and present. An unmissable exhibition on one of the UK’s most important artists.
