"I believe it is important to depict ordinary people engaging in everyday activities because #blackexcellence can be a burden," Tschabalala Self told us in the Summer 2019 issue. "You should not have to be excellent, famous, or unique to be granted dignity. Everyone's story is infinitely complex." Self continues to explore the everyday lives of her characters in a new show, Thigh High, on view now at Pilar Corrias in London.
Thigh High, Self's second exhibition with the gallery, features a series of new paintings, sculpture and an animation that continue to foreground her exploration into the cultural expectations placed upon the gendered and racialised body. As the galery notes, "Through her use of form and function, Self parses the iconographic significance of the Black female body in contemporary culture. In Thigh High, the garments, shoes and accessories worn by the figures add a layer of complication to their form."