Alberta Whittle

Secreting Myths (magenta)

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About this artwork

In this print, Alberta Whittle has transformed an engraving by Theodore de Bry (1528 –1598). The engraving visualised for European audiences the first encounters between Conquistadors and the peoples and territories of the West Indies in the late fifteenth century.  It shows Spanish ships arriving in the ‘New World’ with the indigenous populations welcoming the new arrivals with gold and other precious gifts. Whittle’s title Secreting Myths alludes to the distorting mythology of such representations, as well as her organic intervention with snail trails printed in gold ink. These secretions are positioned to obscure the features of antagonistic figures within the historical imagery. This multi-layered story in print combines different types of imagery to produce lushly colourful and embossed surfaces containing both beauty and violence.

Updated 2021

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  • artist:
    Alberta Whittle (born 1980)
  • title:
    Secreting Myths (magenta)
  • date created:
    2019
  • materials:
    Laser-engraved woodblock print on paper
  • measurements:
    56.00 x 69.00 cm
  • object type:
  • credit line:
    Purchased 2021
  • accession number:
    GMA 5733
  • gallery:
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Alberta Whittle

Alberta Whittle