Kosisochukwu Nnebe’s M(other)nity Installation at the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts (acrylic and marker on plexiglas, 32″ x 48″)
Now through March 30th, the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts will display the latest project by 20-year-old Nigerian-Canadian artist Kosisochukwu Nnebe , M(other)nity , which focuses on the modern black woman, respectability politics, and black women in media.
The four beautifully painted women that grace individual layers of plexiglas were created in response to works by late Canadian painter Prudence Heward , and also in an effort to reclaim the black female body.
“I, as an artist, yearn to reclaim the black female body – to extricate it from a narrative that labels it “grotesque,” “hypersexualized,” “strange” or “lascivious” and rather, present it as the work of art that I believe it to be.”
Kosisochukwu Nnebe’s M(other)nity Installation at the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts
Installed as part of the museum’s Black History Month program and its The 4th Wall: Making the Invisible Visible exhibition, Kosisochukwu’s project is divided into three parts:
Part one is the paintings “that show different performances of black/African femininity and the manner in which they can fit into the concept of modernity,” she says. “I wanted to visually depict modernity as a safe space that is created individually and encompasses separate elements that can be seen separately or as a whole.”
Part two is a video collaboration with Dominican filmmaker Jean Jean . “Short and simple, the video highlights the complexity of a concept such as modernity —especially as the parameters of race and gender are then added.”
“If black women may choose only between the subjectivity of the black queen or the whore, they will find themselves trapped in an identity that depends upon the negation of other black women.”
– Shanara Reid-Brinkley
The third and final part is an excellent article entitled, The Modern Black Woman and Politics of Respectability , in which Kosisochukwu tackles internalized racism.
“Starting with a first reaction to the installation piece,” she says, “I discuss the image of the black female body, the creation of a dichotomy of queen and hoe, as well as the need for a multitude of black, female narratives within the media.”
Check out museum information and Kosisochukwu’s artist profile below.
When
Now through Sunday, March 30, 2014
- Monday – Closed
- Tuesday – 11:00 am – 5:00 pm
- Wednesday – 11:00 am – 9:00 pm
- Thursday & Friday – 11:00 am – 7:00 pm
- Saturday & Sunday – 10:00 am – 5:00 pm
Where
Montreal Museum of Fine Arts
1380 Rue Sherbrooke Ouest
Montréal, QC H3G 1J5, Canada
Cost
View Fees
[thanks clutchmagonline.com and iamthenublack.com ]
Author
