Deborah Roberts: A Look Inside at the Bluecoat, Liverpool

Sara Jaspan, Exhibitions Editor
Deborah Roberts: A Look Inside at the Bluecoat, Liverpool
Deborah Roberts, 'Let them be Children' Courtesy the artist and Stephen Friedman Gallery, London. Private Collection.

Deborah Roberts: A Look Inside at Bluecoat, City Centre 15 October 2021 — 23 January 2022 Entrance is free — Visit now

Award-winning artist Deborah Roberts is widely celebrated for her powerful collage images, which critique received notions of the body, beauty, race and identity in contemporary society through the lens of Black children in America. A Look Inside at the Bluecoat in Liverpool marks the artist’s first major UK solo exhibition (despite her work being held in several collections) and first significant showing in Europe, bringing together new and recent work from the past five years.

Roberts describes the feeling of ‘otherness’ as having been at the centre of her consciousness since the beginning of her artistic career, specifically referencing how her early ideals of race and beauty had been shaped by studying Renaissance paintings and the glossy pages of fashion magazines. Her decision to begin image-making was fuelled by a desire to ‘grapple with whatever power and authority these images have over the female figure’ (Roberts) and make room for women of colour.

Her work is made from found images sourced from the internet and hand-painted details, which combine to make compositions steeped in layers, symbols and double meanings that insist upon close reading. The focus is on children because of the significance of childhood as a stage during which identity is still being forged; both shaped by societal pressures but as yet unfixed. In the artist’s own words: ‘Each child has character and agency to find their own way amidst the complicated narratives of American, African American and art history.’

In the wake of 2020, which saw Black Lives Matter protests sweep the globe in response to the numerous high-profile murders and acts of violence carried out against Black people, as well as the disproportionate number of Covid-related deaths within the Black community, this exhibition represents a much-needed continuation of the conversation around dismantling white supremacy. Where better a place to stage it in the UK than Liverpool, one of the major slaving ports of the 18th and 19th century.

A Look Inside will be presented in conjunction with Practice Makes Perfect – an exhibition of new work by Rosa-Johan Uddoh (born 1993, Croydon), an interdisciplinary artist working towards radical self-love, inspired by Black feminist practice and writing.

Deborah Roberts: A Look Inside at Bluecoat, City Centre 15 October 2021 — 23 January 2022 Entrance is free Visit now

What's on at Bluecoat

Where to go near Deborah Roberts: A Look Inside at the Bluecoat, Liverpool

Photo of the shop's front window
City Centre
Shop
Bluecoat Display Centre

The Bluecoat Display Centre in Liverpool is a contemporary craft shop – and it’s been doing its thing for over 50 years – despite funding cuts and recessions.

Probe Records record shop in Liverpool
City Centre
Shop
Probe Records

For more than 40 years, Probe Records has stocked an immense selection of music and provided a hangout for vinyl addicts and musicians alike.

City Centre
Shop
Root House Plants

The ultimate destination for seasoned plant lovers and beginners alike, Root sell a wide selection of gorgeous houseplants.

food and drink
City Centre
Bar or Pub
Brass Monkey

Brass Monkey is a quirky bar with swings serving delicious drinks, tucked away down a quiet street in the centre of Liverpool.

Mamasan Liverpool
City Centre
Mamasan Liverpool

Mamasan is a new three-floor South East Asian inspired restaurant and bar based in Liverpool One. It also has exciting cook-at-home options.

City Centre
Theatre
Epstein Theatre

The Epstein Theatre in Liverpool, formerly known as the Neptune Theatre, was renamed in honour of The Beatles’ Manager Brian Epstein.

What's on: Exhibitions

Wolf in Yellowstone
Until
ExhibitionsManchester
Wild at Manchester Museum

Manchester Museum explores the concept of ‘wild’ nature as a means of tackling the climate and biodiversity crisis in a new exhibition.

free entry
Two people sitting playing a video game.
Until
ExhibitionsCity Centre
Art Plays Games at FACT

Art Plays Games is a new show at FACT, celebrating games created by digital artists and independent video game developers.

free entry

Culture Guides

A woman sits in a car with hands holding the steering wheel.
Cinema in the North

Vintage Alfred Hitchcock and a family friendly film festival are amongst our highlights this May.

Image by Jonathan Schofield.
Tours and Activities in the North

We've got many a good time in store this month as we round up the best walking tours, cultural classes and makers markets in the land.

Sextile
Music in the North

The outsiders, the oddities and the outrageous – we’re keeping it weird with a hot new batch of underground gigs about to hit Manchester, Leeds, and Liverpool.

Theatre in Manchester and the North
Theatre in the North

Dynamic dance, party-performance, high-energy stand-up and a site-specific show set in a pub. All this and more in our newest theatre guide.

A large sphere floats in a dark room with an ornate wall pattern, flanked by two arched windows and a checkered floor.
Exhibitions in the North

From precarious ceramics to photography festivals, spring is here and brings with it a breath of fresh air in visual art and exhibitions.

Okechukwu Nzelu
Literature Events in the North

If it's inspiring, inclusive events and avant-garde, experimental afternoons you're after, look no further than live literature this spring – we've got you covered.