Imran Perretta: A Riot In Three Acts at HOME

HOME presents a major new exhibition – Imran Perretta: A Riot In Three Acts explores power inequality and racial injustice from the lens of collective actions against the state such as riots and uprisings.

The main gallery space is transformed into a large-scale installation that uses cinematic techniques, a film set and a score which, together, touch on themes like racist policing, social deprivation and youth disenfranchisement that often lead to unrest.

Perretta himself remembers the UK riots of 2011, when BBM (BlackBerry Messenger), became a key tool in communicating and organising for rioters, thanks to its end-to-end encryption. Here, he artist uses the BlackBerry as a symbol of the time and, more literally, a device displaying images of burning furniture at Reeves Corner in Croydon, now a symbolic location where, in the summer of 2011, a family-run shop – the House of Reeves, was burned down.

The three-dimensional part of the installation which consists of a painted backdrop and props replicates Reeves Corner – a highly-contested area of now privately owned wasteland, loaded with the memory of recent history. It represents both the anger of the community and the seemingly impossible wish for long-term socioeconomic change that continues to trigger similar events. Reeves Corner is the motif that connects the different elements of the display, combining to tell the story of urban spaces and the ways in which they are shaped by widespread inequality and eventual dissent.

Perhaps most importantly, Perretta’s work draws attention to the fact that even though the riots took place over a decade ago, the conditions which led to them have not changed – in his own words: “If anything it’s significantly worse, it’s been over a decade of austerity now.”

As well as installation and film, Peretta often utilises sound, performance and poetry in his work and music is a key feature of A Riot In Three Acts too. A Requiem for the Dispossessed was composed by Perretta, arranged by William Newell and co-commissioned and performed by Manchester Camerata. It is built upon the tradition of the requiem, a musical composition to honour the dead, and is a musical interpretation of the uprising and its aftermath. Audiences can see an exclusive performance of A Requiem for the Dispossessed on Friday 28 February – take a look at the HOME website for more details.