Somerset House will showcase BLACK VENUS this summer

In July, Somerset House will host an exhibition featuring the works of more than 20 Black women and non-binary artists, which will explore the representation and evolving legacy of Black women in visual culture.

Image: Ming Smith, Grace on Motor Cycle, 1978 © Courtesy of the artist and Pippy Houldsworth Gallery, London.

Somerset House will showcase an exhibition called BLACK VENUS, which explores the historical representation and changing legacy of Black women in visual culture. Curated by Aindrea Emelife, the exhibition features the works of over 20 Black women and non-binary artists. It looks at the fetishisation, othering, and reclamation of narratives surrounding Black femininity. The show pairs contemporary and primarily photographic artworks with archival imagery dated between 1793 to 1930, highlighting historical depictions of Black women and the caricaturing of the Black body. BLACK VENUS examines the complex narratives of Black womanhood through the influences of three perceived archetypes: the Hottentot Venus, the Sable Venus, and the Jezebel.

Image: Delphine Diallo, Highness – Hybrid 1, 2011. Featuring: Joanne Petit-Frère, Nefertiti’s Return Crown, 2010-2011 & Nefertiti’s Return Face Shield, 2010-2011.  © Courtesy of MTArt, Delphine Diallo, Joanne Petit-Frère & JoGoesWest.

The exhibition features over 40 contemporary artworks and archival imagery that offer a contrast of colonial-era exploitation and commodification of the Black body with portraiture by some of the most influential contemporary Black image-makers whose work deals with layered narratives of Black femininity. The presentation of these works side by side invites viewers to confront the enduring oppression and exploitation of Black women and to witness its upheaval in the hands of today's Black artists. The exhibition is set to debut at Somerset House following its residency at San Francisco's Museum of the African Diaspora (MoAD), featuring a new reworking of the themes with over 19 new works and 6 UK-based artists.

Image: Amber Pinkerton Photo Booth, Sabah, Girls Next Door , 2020, © Courtesy the Artist and ALICE BLACK.

One of the key themes of the exhibition is the Hottentot Venus, a recurrent archetype throughout visual culture and the epithet given to Sarah Baartman, who was enslaved by Dutch colonists and was toured as a "freak show" exhibit. The exhibition examines Baker's own self-awareness as a tool to challenge racial prejudice, satirising Western audiences' colonialist sexual fantasies and their narrow understanding of Black beauty. The works in the show build upon contemporary academic discourse on the path to freedom and equity, forged by Black women. Participating artists include Sonia Boyce, Widline Cadet, Shawanda Corbett, Renee Cox, Delphine Diallo, Ellen Gallagher, Ayana V Jackson, Zanele Muholi, Lorna Simpson, and Carrie Mae Weems.

Date: 20 July – 24 September 2023, Location: Terrace Rooms & Courtyard Rooms, Somerset House, Strand, London WC2R 1LA. Price: In order to make the exhibition as accessible as possible. It is ‘Pay What You Can.’ SS are asking visitors who are able to do so to consider making a donation to support the work of Somerset House.Book now.