Somerset House presents Black Venus, an exhibition which examines the historical representation and shifting legacy of Black women in visual culture.
Curated by Aindrea Emelife, Black Venus brings together the work of over 18 Black women and non-binary artists to explore the othering, fetishisation and reclamation of narratives around Black femininity.
Black Venus pairs over 40 contemporary and primarily photographic artworks with a selection of archival imagery, dated between 1793 to 1930, illustrating historical depictions of Black women and the caricaturing of the Black body. Exploring the many faces of Black femininity, the show’s contemporary works offer a riotous affront to a centuries-long dynamic of objectification, showcasing all that Black womanhood can be and has always been.
The exhibition mines the complex narratives of Black womanhood through the influences of three perceived archetypes: the Hottentot Venus, the Sable Venus, and the Jezebel. Through the use of these three thematic pillars, Black Venus examines the shifting image of the Black woman in visual culture and the complex lived experience that informs the work of cross-generational women and non-binary artists today.
At the centre of the show’s thematic focus is the Hottentot Venus, a recurrent archetype throughout visual culture and the epithet given to Sarah Baartman (Ssehura, b. 1789) who, enslaved by Dutch colonists, was toured as a ‘freak show’ exhibit under this alias. Black Venus contrasts archival depictions of Black women, which typify colonial-era exploitation and commodification of the Black body, with evocative 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 in tandem 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.
Key to Emelife’s development of Black Venus’s concept is Thomas Stothard’s etching of The Voyage of the Sable Venus from Angola to the West Indies (c. 1800) and its place in the long-standing exoticisation of the Black woman in visual culture. In the etching, Black beauty is framed within the context of Western classical culture, as the titular ‘Sable Venus’ rises from the sea on a half-shell, resulting in the predatory attention of the sea god, Triton. This sexual objectification of the Black woman is also exemplified in the trope of the Jezebel, explored in the exhibition through the image of performer and cultural icon, Josephine Baker. Black Venus 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.
In HOTT-EN-TOT (1994), Renee Cox explores the exhibition’s titular inspiration by posing as the Hottentot Venus. The work rejects historical depictions of Baartman in a non-confrontational side profile, with Cox instead turning her gaze towards the viewer. In Cox’s vision, the image of the Hottentot Venus defies transposition into other contexts, instead locking eyes and purposefully reclaiming agency and space.
Somerset House, Strand, London, WC2R 1LA from 20th July – 24th September.
See the website for full details of associated events: www.somersethouse.org.uk
