ACCA is delighted to present the first Australian solo exhibition of revered American contemporary artist Tschabalala Self. With new and recent large-scale paintings and works on paper and an immersive 3-channel video installation. Skin tight introduces Australian audiences to a practice celebrated for its beauty and sophistication. Self’s distinctive style combines fabric, collage, and painting with avant-garde printing techniques, making her one of the most in-demand figurative painters working today. In recent years, Self has become increasingly steadfast in her exploration of beauty – something she views as a form of artistic resistance.
Self was born in 1990 in Harlem, New York. Today she works out of her studio in the picturesque Hudson Valley, New York. Her work is inspired by her ancestral and familial ties to New Orleans and is infused with a vibrancy drawn from the Harlem Renaissance, as well as jazz, dance, and performance. Self channels these energies into profound reflections on Black embodiment and experience.
For her exhibition at ACCA, Self has designed a series of contemplative, psychologically charged immersive spaces, filled with striking 2D and 3D works. The exuberant characters that populate Skin Tight push audiences to consider how we construct our identities – and how we both perceive and are perceived by the world around us. Self’s figures are not representative of any singular individual, rather, they are collages of various people and references from throughout her life.
Through cut-outs, sightlines, installation, and wall drawings, Self has created an immersive exhibition experience – one where audiences are encouraged to feel part of the installation. Inside her fantastic worlds, we become active participants in the work, reflecting on themes of exhibitionism, voyeurism, myth making, and identity. By harnessing a multitude of references and media, Self explores the psychological, emotional, spiritual and sexual dimensions of being alive, and continually challenges our perceptions of identity. Skin Tight speaks to both the limitations and freedom of embodiment.
Curated by: Dr Shelley McSpedden & Myles Russell-Cook
ACCA warmly thanks Drs. Theresia and Kevin Spencer for their leadership support of this exhibition.
About the artist:
Tschabalala Self (b. 1990, Harlem, USA) lives and works in Hudson Valley, New York.
Tschabalala Self has shown at major institutions, globally, including Longlati Foundation, Shanghai; Espoo Museum of Modern Art, Espoo; High Line, New York; Brooklyn Museum, New York; FLAG Foundation, New York; Barbican, London; CC Strombeek, Grimbergen, Belgium; Desert X, Coachella Valley; Kunstmuseum St Gallen; Le Consortium, Dijon; Performa 2021 Biennial, New York; Haus der Kunst, Munich; Kunsthalle Düsseldorf; Baltimore Museum of Art; ICA Boston; Studio Museum Artists in Residence, MoMA PS1, New York; Hammer Museum, Los Angeles; Frye Art Museum, Seattle, among many others.