La Biennale di Venezia 2026
Michael Armitage: The Promise of Change at Palazzo Grasso
Text and Photography by Mart Engelen
Michael Armitage Necklacing, 2016
Oil on Lubugo bark cloth, Palazzo Grassi, 2026
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