AFRICA AT VENICE / United States Pavilion
ABOUT
Simone Leigh was selected to represent the United States at the 59th Venice Biennale. Co-Curated by Jill Medvedow and Eva Respini.
Leigh’s large-scale sculptural works join forms derived from vernacular architecture and the female body, rendering them via materials and processes associated with the artistic traditions of Africa and the African diaspora. Sovereignty commingles disparate histories and narratives, including those related to ritual performances of the Baga peoples in Guinea, early Black American material culture from the Edgefield District in South Carolina, and the landmark 1931 Paris Colonial Exposition. With a series of new bronzes and ceramics both outside and inside the Pavilion, Leigh intervenes imaginatively to fill gaps in the historical record by proposing new hybridities. The works in Sovereignty collectively extend the artist’s ongoing inquiry into the theme of self-determination.
AFRICA AT VENICE series is presented by ART AFRICA, African Power Station and Africa First.
Interviews filmed on location at the United States pavilion, Giardini, Venice, Italy.
Director, Videography & Editing: Brendon Bell-Roberts
Voiceover: Suzette Bell-Roberts
© ART AFRICA, AFRICAN POWER STATION and Africa First
