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sonia e barrett

London

My artwork is a rollercoaster of the materials that have shaped my life as a black woman.

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Gender Circus, tables 21, 22 and 23. by sonia e barrett
Gender Circus, tables 21, 22 and 23. by sonia e barrett
Gender Circus, tables 21, 22 and 23. by sonia e barrett
Gender Circus, tables 21, 22 and 23. by sonia e barrett
Gender Circus, tables 21, 22 and 23. by sonia e barrett
  • sonia e barrett
  • Gender Circus, tables 21, 22 and 23., 2019
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I made this work after reading sexuality in Africa, following research that pointed to the colonial origin of ideas on sexuality and a more fluid space in pre-colonial societies. I discovered a table with a penis which I did not change at all. I set out to make a table with a womb using the folding part of the table. This table wears waist beads, denoting that it is in a committed relationship. The beads dress this figure; therefore, in its cultural context, it is not considered nude. The third table has neither but blossoms with multiple external extensions and cavities that defy simplistic notions of gender. I piled them on top of each other, intending for them to rotate periodically, so that there is no particular fixed hierarchy. This reminded me of a kind of circus performance, taking something normal and "extravaganizing" it, which I reflected in the title. I also liked the notion that it could all topple and we could start over and the notion of a ringmaster.

Other Work From sonia e barrett

Sky, Feb 2020 (Villa Romana) by Sonia e Barrett
Sky nr 3 by sonia e barrett
Here Tell, Quantum Black, 2019 (Diaspora Pavilion) by sonia e barrett
Stay 1, 2019 by sonia e barrett
Small White No by sonia e barrett
Telling Time, 2019 by sonia e barrett
Inception of  the Colonial African Diaspora, 2019 by sonia e barrett
I am not a chair by sonia e barrett
Growing out the sides, Peace! ,Steering/shooting identity, Who’s in the driving seat? by sonia e barrett
The Difficult Conversation by sonia e barrett
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