‘Sophie’ by Mary Sibande
Posted by Bobby Solomon • June 1, 2010 • Art
It’s not often that I’m stunned by art, but in the case of Johannesburg artist Mary Sibande’s Sophie I was totally taken aback. I honestly feel like I can’t do this description justice, so I’m going to cut and paste this description of her work:
Inspired by the explorations of race, gender and sexuality in the work of American artists Kara Walker and Cindy Sherman, and London-based Nigerian artist Yinka Shonibare, Mary cast her own body in fibreglass and silicone to create Sophie. She then painted her a ‘flat black,’ so that she stands out like a dark and static shadow … Sophie’s eyes are always closed as if in a ‘constant ecstasy of fantasy’ and it’s in her mind that her dress becomes a thing of voluminous Victorian splendour. ‘If she opened her eyes, it would be back to work – cleaning this, dusting that. Her dress would become an ordinary maid’s uniform,’ said Mary.
I think what I love about this is how fantastic and beautiful it is but also how poignant and meaningful her work is. She says that she’s “concentrating on shadow of apartheid”, and that even though things have gotten better in South Africa there are still lingering elements. I would really love to see these pieces in person, I think they would be beautiful and quite moving.
For more information be sure to visit Gallery Momo.
Bobby
Photography or watercolor? The beautiful work of Andrew B. Myers: http://bit.ly/9d5eAO
Wow. That is absolutely exquisite.
Comment by Chris — June 2, 2010 #
Beautiful. Visually captivating and backed up with a strong message and idea.
Comment by johnnyfiasco — June 3, 2010 #
Color is great! As soon as I saw the first image I was thinking Yinka Shonibare, glad to see he was an inspiration.
Comment by drew — June 3, 2010 #
Wow, this is unbelievably one of the most honest portrayal I’ve every seen. Truly great work she has done. Before even ready her description what she wrote is what I felt and saw looking at the photos.
Comment by Amarachi C. E. — June 4, 2010 #
whoaaaaaaaaa. phenomenal!
j.
Comment by jennifer young — June 5, 2010 #
Mary is absolute amazing. As a young artist, she has leapt from obscurity straight into the history books.
To compete with the unsightly billboards and building wraps, giant versions of 19 of Mary Sibande’s works will be wrapped around buildings in Johannesburg.
Read more here: http://za.mg.co.za/article/2010-07-09-look-up
Comment by Neil — July 9, 2010 #