1. Joy and colour abounds
Mickalene Thomas deeply understands the power of colour and texture to a detailed and touching level. Rhinestones glitter across many of the pieces, but she uses them sparingly, with painstaking attention to detail. Your eyes follow every line, every precise route of every strand. There is joy in her intention, and perhaps a smirk of defiance too: as if to show the power that such an oft derided crystal has.
2. The beauty of allowing Black women to be
The viewpoints and lives of the women that feature in her work come through to an incredibly moving level. Some of her work, such as Jet Blue #15 is an open response to how African Americans were (and still are) portrayed in mainstream media.
Figures in her work are shown in positions that are not voyeuristic, but imply a level of comfort and confidence held by these women. It is a bold contrast to the over-sexualisation, dehumanisation and objectification many Black women face. In Thomas’ work here, no matter what these women are wearing, they hold their joy and their identity close.
3. RESIST
RESIST is one of the final sections of the exhibition a visitor will see. Whilst all of Thomas’ work is a strong, commentary on the various injustices and issues that Black women (in particular) face, RESIST focuses specifically on Civil Rights activism from the 1960s to the present. Most moving is Say Their Names (Resist #6), where the combination of rhinestones and acrylic paint on canvas highlights the names of several Black people in history that have suffered at the hands of US law enforcement or while in custody.
The piece sparkles and glistens with the multi-faceted nature of the rhinestones: perhaps a message that not only should these names not be forgotten, but also how the many other unnamed figures that have suffered similarly should likewise not be lost to the darkness of history.
4. Engaging installations
Visitors will be struck by a piece near the beginning of the exhibition that features two living rooms: one from the 1970s in New Jersey, a homage to Thomas’ grandmother, and another from the 1980s, when Thomas was a teenager. It is one of the most moving pieces in the while exhibition, offering viewers space and time to just sit and appreciate the lived reality for Thomas’ and other Black women during these periods.
These rooms are curated lovingly, from the upholstery patterns of every chair, to the choices of plants and the music playing. Throughout the exhibition other stools and decorations also follow a similar theme. Thus, we are invited into a world where Black women danced, welcomed guests, loved, entertained, lost and dreamed. In giving these lives the space to be, they are brought to life for visitors.
5. Wrestlers
Another stand out moment from the exhibition is Thomas’ piece Wrestlers, where viewers are invited into a room with wood panelling and red bean bags on the floor. On the walls: a series of photos and paintings meant to capture Thomas’ endeavour to unpack her own identity. Via the use of artist Kalup Linzy as her twin, we see her body and face contorted and twisted as she grapples with her own energy and being.
Does she ever find our how she is at the end of it all? Perhaps, perhaps not, but it is a powerful piece reflecting an artists’ wish to truly uncover who she is in her own eyes as well as those of the world outside, and the discomfort that often occurs during such a process.
Mickalene Thomas: All About Love is on at the Hayward Gallery now. Find tickets here.
This is part of our Beyond The Diaspora coverage.
