TSCHABALALA SELF

BY: Ines Valencia

American artist Tschabalala Self is among the most talented up-and-coming names in the art world, and I can assure you that if you are unfamiliar with her work, you will not regret checking it out. In New York, the Eva Presenhuber gallery hosts an outstanding exhibition, Cotton Mouth, a collection of new works by Self, a New York-born artist who explores the black female body’s importance in contemporary culture.

Self was born in Harlem in 1990 and currently resides in New Haven, CT. She received her B.A. from Bard College in 2012 and went on to earn an M.F.A. from Yale School of Art. She uses various materials (such as fabric, paint, paper, scraps, and elements from black culture). Still, despite her mixed media creations, the vast majority of her work is on canvas in collage-style portraits that explore modern Black life and mythologies about Black pop culture and the past. In many, she highlights and emphasizes body parts that may have physical or psychological weight. In the past, she focused on specific body parts and often questioned by critics who viewed art from a white-centric perspective. That is precisely the point Self is making. She wants her pieces to be engaged with and consumed by Black people. As the artist states on her website: “My work explores the emotional, physical and psychological impact of the Black female body as an icon, and is primarily devoted to examining the intersectionality of race, gender, and sexuality. Collective fantasies surround the Black body and have created a cultural niche in our contemporary understanding of Black femininity. My practice is dedicated to naming this phenomenon.” A video and examples of her work can be seen at the bottom of this article, including some featured in the show.

An incredible amount of thought goes into her works, and the Cotton Mouth pieces are no exception. In it, she “assembles fully formed characters who, individually and situationally, hold power over their self-presentation and external perception. A power frequently denied to Black American people in their daily lives.” The stitching method that she uses to piece together her work also has great personal and autobiographical significance.

Every aspect of the show has a specific meaning and is carefully thought out. “”Cotton Mouth” indicates a cultural and historical significance specifically referential to elements within the Black American lexicon. As a material, cotton has a ubiquitous presence in everyday life, proving essential to almost every person on earth, but is infrequently acknowledged as the fruit of exclusively Black slave labor, accounting for over half of all American exports during the first half of the 19th century,” as is stated in the press release. It also refers to a dry mouth that can no longer function, a metaphor for the continuous unjust silencing of Black America. The gallery display alludes to a domestic space, one of the main places where one receives knowledge and information.

Included in the exhibition are paintings, drawings, sculptures, and audio. Self has participated in numerous group exhibitions in the past, and this is her debut solo show at Eva Presenhuber gallery. Countless resources, including the works, an online viewing room, and a video, are on the gallery’s website. I highly encourage everyone to explore this brilliant artist’s work and listen to what she has to say. Cotton Mouth is available to visit in person through January 23, 2021.