ARTARTAFRICAAFRICAWhy do you feel it is important to document the domestic – its spaces
and the activities that occur within them?What is important for me is the development of the personal narrative. I
have always centered my work around personal experience. Previously, my
experiences were those of a single woman and the themes in my work reflected
that. Now that I am a mother, my stories are focused on this life expansion;
its pleasures, pressures and daily concerns. They are set in the domestic
space, where the majority of child-rearing occurs. I feel compelled to share my
experiences, these mundane domestic preoccupations are universal themes
connecting us to each other. They show the intimate life of the female artist
playing other roles in society, a side that, at large, is rarely seen.How do you feel your work fits into a broader canon of feminist art –
beyond Elizabeth Catlett and Faith Ringgold – who are your counterparts
in the context of ‘A Constellation’? I think immediately of other political,
feminist artists and their work: Judy Chicago transforming dinner plates
into vulvas in the 1970s or Alice Neel’s uncompromising Self Portrait
from 1980.My work deals with the female experience, both personal and universal. It
fearlessly highlights stories that may be seen as sentimental or considered
inappropriate subject matter for art – particularly when narrated by a woman.
It is about celebrating women as triumphant heroines of their own stories, in
charge of how they will be told. Initially, I was reacting to acts of misogyny that
I had personally encountered on my life’s journey. Eventually I realised that
it was an opportunity to value and celebrate, rather than condemn, because
hatred and bitterness are enslaving rather than liberating. Another obvious
layer of my work is the medium itself. I have taken a traditionally female
pastime and turned it into an empowering tool of self-expression.Amanda Hunt is the Assistant Curator at The Studio Museum in Harlem
where she manages the Artist in Residence programme and has curated
several exhibitions including Lorraine O’Grady: ‘Art Is...,’ ‘In Profile: Portraits
from the Permanent Collection,’ ‘A Constellation,’ and an upcoming
solo exhibition with Rashaad Newsome. Hunt curated ‘Portland2014: A
Biennial of Contemporary Art,’ a regional survey exhibition in Portland,
Oregon in 2014 and was a curator at the non-profit art space LA><ART
from 2011-2014‘A Constellation’ runs from Nov 12 2015 - Mar 6 2016 at The Studio Museum
Harlem, NYC.A CONSTELLATION / AMANDA HUNT IN CONVERSATION WITH BILLIE ZANGEWA 5/6
CURATOR’S INSIGHT