BLACK VENUS: RECLAIMING BLACK WOMEN IN VISUAL CULTURE
BLACK VENUS, currently open for view at Somerset House, examines the historical representation and shifting legacy of Black women in visual culture, bringing together the work of 18 Black women and non-binary artists to explore the othering, fetishisation and reclamation of narratives around Black femininity.
The exhibition pairs over 40 contemporary and primarily photographic artworks with a selection of archival imagery, dated between 1793 to 1930, illustrating historical depictions of Black women and the caricaturing of the Black body.
Delphine Diallo, Highness – Hybrid 1 , 2011. Featuring: Joanne Petit - Frère, Nefertiti’s Return Crown , 2010 - 2011 & Nefertiti’s Return Face Shield, 2010 - 2011. © Courtesy of MTArt, Delphine Diallo, Joanne Petit - Frère & JoGoesWest
Participating artists include: Sonia Boyce, Widline Cadet, Shawanda Corbett, Renee Cox, Delphine Diallo, Delphine Diallo featuring Joanne Petit-Frère, Ayana V Jackson, Zanele Muholi, Amber Pinkerton, Tabita Rezaire, Coreen Simpson, Lorna Simpson, Ming Smith, Maud Sulter, Kara Walker, Maxine Walker, Carrie Mae Weems, Alberta Whittle and Carla Williams.
Ming Smith, Instant Model, 1976 © Courtesy of the artist and Pippy Houldsworth Gallery, London.
Aindrea Emelife, curator of BLACK VENUS, says: “Rather than simply putting forth a compelling group of contemporary talent, BLACK VENUS defines a legacy. At a time when Black women are finally being allowed to claim agency over the way their own image is seen, it is important to track how we have reached this moment. In looking through these images, which span different stages of history, we are confronted with a mirror of the political and socio-economic understandings of Black women at the time and how the many faces of Black womanhood continue to shift in the public consciousness.”
Ayana V. Jackson, Anarcha , 2017 © Courtesy of the Artist and Mariane Ibrahim.
BLACK VENUS is open for view at Somerset House, Terrace Rooms & Courtyard Rooms until the 24th September.