Tschabalala Self (b. 1990, New York City, USA) creates vibrant, materially rich works that centre Black femininity as a site of agency, complexity and self-definition. Working across painting, collage, printmaking and sculpture, she assembles figures from layered fabrics, painted surfaces and graphic forms—bodies built rather than depicted, asserting their presence through construction and scale.
Self’s figures are bold and unapologetic. Limbs exaggerate, torsos tilt, patterns clash, and colour hums with confidence. Drawing on art history, fashion, advertising and everyday visual culture, she reclaims representational space historically denied to Black women, refusing both idealisation and stereotype. The works operate with humour and force, balancing formal invention with cultural critique.
Material is central to meaning in Self’s practice. Fabric carries histories of labour, care and adornment, while collage allows identity to remain fluid and authored rather than fixed. Through this hybrid language, she reframes the body as something actively composed—an assertion of autonomy, pleasure and visibility within contemporary culture.
