The limitation or erasure of Black identity in the Western art world is not a new discovery; it has existed for millennia. It is only in recent decades that their representation and their right to expression have become more mainstream and widely accepted. Like the older art forms, photography is no different. Even today, we continue to fight an everyday battle to credit the contribution of the Black community, especially Black women. One artist who has been very vocal about the obvious exclusive of the marginalized community in the Western arts was Maud Sulter. A new immersive exhibition by the photographer looks at her extensive and thought-provoking work, which is even more critical for us to understand in today’s context.
The lead image is by the artist, courtesy of Maud Sulter’s Estate. Used with permission.
For the unversed, Sulter is an award-winning writer, curator, poet, and photographer whose works focus on the discrimination and marginalization of the African diaspora. Since the mid-1980s, the photographer has used the medium, alongside video installation, writing, and performance art, to highlight the issues and place the Black community, especially Black women, at the center of art history.
This whole notion of the disappeared, I think, is something that runs through my work. I’m very interested in absence and presence in the way that particularly black women’s experience and black women’s contribution to culture is so often erased and marginalized. So that it’s important for me as an individual, and obviously as a black woman artist, to put black women back in the centre of the frame – both literally within the photographic image, but also within the cultural institutions where our work operates.
Maud Sulter
In the latest exhibition by the late photographer, who was born in Scotland and was of Ghanaian heritage, viewers will see the themes of family, memory, and identity. For instance, in Memories of Childhood, the pictures depict her family images, which helps one decipher the broader experiences of marginalized communities in Glasgow, Scotland. She also displays portraits of her mother in No Oxbridge Spires, who was one of the last tram conductors in Glasgow. Similarly, her other series, Syrcas, uses photomontage to examine the forgotten history of the genocide of Black Europeans during the Holocaust. For this work, she overlaid archival classical European art with images of African art objects. As a result, the work questions the tropes of racial purity and African presence in Europe.
Visitors will also experience her other projects, such as The Alba Sonnets, Blood Money, and more, which are an amalgamation of her writings and moving images. These works highlight the historical experiences of Black women, some of whom faced violence and persecution.
In 2020, George Floyd was brutally killed by the police, which reveals the deep-seated roots of discrimination and othering. Since then, while racial issues have been a part of our current discourse, there is very little being done to improve it. According to a research report by the Pew Research Center, in addition to the US, France, Germany, and Austria have the highest number of racial discrimination cases. In contrast, the UK has the highest number of hate crimes. The report also elaborates on our entire judicial law system, and by that action, our society needs an overhaul.
This is where artists like Maud Sulter play a crucial role in shaping our perspective of the world. By examining the history and challenges the community faces, Sulter provides people today with an opportunity to contemplate, interact, and initiate discussions on race, class, and belonging. This fosters empathy and connection and provides an opportunity to avoid repeating the mistakes of the past.
Maud Sulter‘s exhibition will be at the Tramway Gallery in Glasgow, Scotland. It will begin on November 23 and end on March 30, 2025. For more information, visit the gallery’s website.