Thandiwe Muriu: You Thought You Could Throw Me Away

October 4, 2023 9:45 AM

Many of the works shown here are part of Muriu’s Camo series, which envelops the artist in Ankara wax fabrics common in Central and West Africa.

Thandiwe Muriu’s work showcases Africa’s unique mix of vibrant textiles, cultural practices, and beauty ideologies. Creating surreal illusions that are not digital manipulations but rather pure photography, she confronts issues surrounding identity and self-perception while seeking to redefine female empowerment through the application of her choice of materials... (from artist's bio)

More of her work on Colossal in 2022, 2021.

posted by heyho (10 comments total)

I sincerely do not get how these portraits say the thing the artist's statement says they say, but I often don't with art, so that's surely on me. If someone can explain it in more detail, I'd be happy to try to understand.

That said, even without understanding the meaning, I find the portraits themselves amazingly beautiful. The use of the wax fabrics in both the clothing and backgrounds is visually stunning.
posted by jacquilynne at 10:50 AM on October 4, 2023 [1 favorite]

wow COLOR!
posted by djseafood at 11:06 AM on October 4, 2023 [2 favorites]

That said, even without understanding the meaning, I find the portraits themselves amazingly beautiful.

That's all that matters. The rest is blather.
posted by pracowity at 11:45 AM on October 4, 2023 [1 favorite]

such vivid beauty!
posted by supermedusa at 11:48 AM on October 4, 2023 [2 favorites]

I complain about artspeak too sometimes, but it's pretty rude to dismiss it as "blather". Speaking in a different language doesn't mean that they lack ideas.

One thing her work is concerned with is what is considered to be "art". We might say something is beautiful, but we don't typically perceive the clothes we wear and objects around us as "art". Is the art in how she's constricted the photographs, or should they have been considered art all along? Who gets to decide what is and what is not art?
posted by Pitachu at 2:14 PM on October 4, 2023 [1 favorite]

I've been seeing shirts worn by men generally on UK panel shows that have repeating colored designs on them. Generally not as striking as these pattens, but still, more interesting than my typical concert t-shirt and flannel checked shirt wear that has been my uniform for literally decades at this point.

I guess my question is, I could see myself wearing a shirt made out of a wax print fabric like this. But wonder if that would be considered somehow cultural appropriation.
posted by hippybear at 6:22 PM on October 4, 2023

I am not in a position to offer you permission on that front but when I have researched the same issue because I love wax print dresses I have found that often the designers websites say things like as long as you buy the real thing from an African designer and not a cheap knock off from a fast fashion brand and wear it respectfully (not as a costume for example) then it is appreciation not appropriation. Example.

Of course, the designers want to sell stuff and don't have to see you wear it so other people might have different opinions. Indeed that page from DIOP suggests that their customers do have problems with other people thinking they're appropriating.
posted by jacquilynne at 5:02 AM on October 5, 2023 [2 favorites]

Mod note: This post has been added to the Best Of blog!
posted by Brandon Blatcher (staff) at 6:05 AM on October 5, 2023 [3 favorites]

With respect to artspeak: if the artist makes an utterance to clarify the meaning of the work, as they see it, and the hearer, making good-faith effort to comprehend, responds "I'm sorry that's just noise," the artist has then failed. The situation does not admit of alternative explanations.

Perhaps the artist ought to consider, in answer to questions about their work, just silently pointing at the work.
posted by Aardvark Cheeselog at 8:04 AM on October 5, 2023 [1 favorite]

A couple of others working in a similar vein:

Zanele Muholi's "Somnyama" series uses everyday objects in high-contrast black and white self-portraits to discuss "being black, 365 days a year" and how "In America, Europe, Africa, the experience is never the same. But that judgment, that discrimination, that lingering sense that you are not supposed to be here persists, having to continually justify your presence."

Patty Carroll's "Anonymous Woman" series uses semi- (or very) hidden models and fabrics, sets, and everyday objects to comment on:

"Many women find themselves in this position, silently and powerfully running a home and family, creating beauty and order from chaos, but unnoticed by the outer world, the people around them, or even themselves. Yet, obsessing and perfecting the home and its accoutrements often shape the identity of many of us (not only women.) Perfecting a space with objects or décor becomes so central that one’s identity becomes fused with it to the point of invisibility. " (This quote was pulled from Anonymous Woman: Draped -- other artist statements accompany the other AW sets).

I've struggled with artist statements in the past and I imagine writing them is similar to novelists' frustrations with back-of-book blurbs. Communicating the essence of your images using text is hard! You'll never reach everyone, especially in this age of context collapse, filter bubbles, and the slow breakup of monolithic mass culture (imo) compared to the TV-radio-print age.
posted by Grimp0teuthis at 8:41 AM on October 6, 2023 [1 favorite]