La Biennale di Venezia 2026
Michael Armitage: The Promise of Change at Palazzo Grasso
Text and Photography by Mart Engelen
Michael Armitage
#Mydressmychoice, 2015
Oil on Lubugo bark cloth, Palazzo Grassi, 2026
The work emanates from video footage that went viral on Twitter of a young woman who was attacked by a mob for wearing a miniskirt, leading to her stripping and molestation by a crowd. The naked woman is depicted here in a pose reminiscent of the Rokeby Venus (1647-1651)
by Diego Velasquez
Michael Armitage Necklacing, 2016
Oil on Lubugo bark cloth, Palazzo Grassi, 2026
The term “necklacing” originates from the 1980s in black townships of apartheid South Africa and depicts a form of extrajudicial summary execution through gasoline-soaked tires wrapped around the necks and set on fire. The painting reflects a childhood memory of Armitage, who witnessed a man with a tire around his neck chased by a mob with a torch, running past him