The Refusal
Tschabalala Self
American, born 1990
2023
A monumental mixed-media collage in which Tschabalala Self assembles painted, screenprinted, laser-engraved and hand-sewn papers with cast resin and stitching to make a stylized Black female figure that enacts a stance of refusal and bodily sovereignty.
What hits you first is the oversized, cloudlike afro and the striped, mask-like face with bright red lips, while layered, fabric-like patches build swollen, flowerlike breasts and an elongated, tattooed arm with long white nails drapes across a vivid magenta ground—everything feels stitched, tactile, and deliberately assembled.
By turning collage into a sculptural, textile-inflected practice, Self reinvigorates traditions of fabric and figurative representation to center Black women’s bodies, agency, and the politics of identity in contemporary art.
Medium
Collage edition with screenprinted, etched, and painted papers cut-and-pasted on cast paper and handmade paper with laser engraving, watercolor, screenprint, cast resin, and hand-sewn thread
Dimensions
sheet (approx.): 60 × 48 1/2" (152.4 × 123.2 cm); frame: 65 1/2 × 53 × 4 3/4" (166.4 × 134.6 × 12.1 cm)
Classification
Department
Credit
Fund for the Twenty-First Century
Accession
256.2025
Palette
Art Terms
Exhibitions
