Tschabalala Self

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Object Label

Piss depicts a moment of lighthearted mischief in which two men keep watch over their friend, who turns his head toward the viewer as he urinates into the blue void. Tschabalala Self conjures a fantastical vision of everyday Harlem, where she grew up, through figures that defy expectations of the human body. The exaggerated forms and painted and sewn fabric scraps imbue the work with a peculiar sense of reality. Throughout her practice, Self engages with the visual languages of Blackness and otherness, allowing the two to exist on their own terms and imagining liberated means of existing in the world.

Caption

Tschabalala Self American, born 1990. Piss, 2019. Painted canvas, fabric, oil, acrylic, flashe, and gouache on canvas, 68 × 50 in. (172.7 × 127.0 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Gift of The Dean Collection, 2020.15. © artist or artist's estate (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, 2020.15_view03_PS11.jpg)

Title

Piss

Date

2019

Medium

Painted canvas, fabric, oil, acrylic, flashe, and gouache on canvas

Classification

Painting

Dimensions

68 × 50 in. (172.7 × 127.0 cm)

Credit Line

Gift of The Dean Collection

Accession Number

2020.15

Rights

© artist or artist's estate

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