This is the first artwork in a series of interconnecting films and sound installations that make up John Akomfrah’s British Pavilion commission.
'The visitor experience begins in a really extraordinary moment on the facade of the building where John has created this multi-screen installation which people can see all the way up the breadth of the Giardini.'
Curator, Tarin Malik talking about The Exterior Portico
Akomfrah frames Canto I as an intervention on the facade of this neoclassical building by including imagery and voices from the Global South – a work that acknowledges Britain’s prominent placement in the site of La Biennale and seeks to honour those that have been marginalised by the legacies of imperialism.