Tschabalala Self

Words by Oliver Monaghan

We are the sum of our experiences. The actions and opinions of others towards our person shape the lives in which we live. Altering our perception as we attempt to navigate our ultimate mystery, what makes us, 私たち? We spend our existence conducting an investigation of self as we attempt to discover our most authentic identity. Filtrating out the countless views thrust upon us by others in an endless game of trial and error. A patchwork ever growing as we continue to change and the things we thought we were shift focus. Our self-image morphing into something new. As tangible as quicksand, as it moves and manipulates itself to the change of time. It is through a rich mix of multimedia and collage that New York native Tschabalala Self analyses the many facets of her being. Holding up an introspective magnifying glass to investigate the objectification and politicization of the black female form. Calling into question, societal attitudes towards race and gender as she crafts unique works from everything from paint to fabric and organic matter. Musing upon an ever-growing lived experience, the experiences of countless other women of color and her own personal identity, as she inputs herself into her work in the form of an imagined other.

Born and raised in Harlem, ニューヨーク, it was during Self’s formative High School years that she began to become aware of other people’s perceptions of her as being ‘different’. She was very much in the minority, attending a school in New York’s Upper-East Side, where the vast majority of the student-body were white. It was here that Self began to develop a sort of “double consciousness”, holding onto her own sense of personal identity, while beginning to contemplate the realities of others in which she was implicated. She continued to hone this state of consciousness while studying for her Bachelor of Arts at Bard College, where she came to fully realize that as a woman, and even more so as a woman of color, the “expectations you have for yourself don’t necessarily match the expectations of other people out in the world. Especially in regards to your body, how it should be treated and respected”.

Upon graduating, チャバララはエール大学美術学校で修士号を取得するために勉強を続けました。. で学業を終える 2015, ラ・ブレア・スタジオでアーティストとして滞在するためにロサンゼルスに旅行する前に. ここで彼女は「Tropicana」という大胆な新作を制作し、ロサンゼルスのザ・キャビン・ギャラリーで展示されました。. それ以来、Self の作品は国際的に紹介されるようになりました, 無数のグループショーや世界で最も尊敬されるアートフェアへの出演を含む, アートバーゼルみたいに. 加えて, 彼女はロンドンのパラソル・ユニット現代美術財団とピラール・コリアス・ギャラリーですでに2回の個展を開催している。.

自分の作品, 大胆でありながら、恥じることなく性的であることが多い, 見る人の心に響く生の魅力と誠実さを持っている. 正面から取り組む, 彼女が定期的に遭遇する固定観念や疲れ果てた社会の比喩, 多次元キャラクターの作成を通じて, 複雑な内面の物語と心理が、今も私たちの文化の一部となっている陰湿な人種差別と性差別に立ち向かうのは誰ですか. 彼女の作品は非常に関連性があります, 力を与え、祝うきっかけとなる. 彼女は彼女の経験を総合し、彼女のレンズを通して表現したものです, 私たちは学び続け、成長し続けることができます.