It was using a voice that I didn't know that I had in this work. It was being expressive and just talking about some of the disparities on black bodies and police brutality over a period of time that questions 'how far are we come from this and have we really changed' and 'why are we still here at this point?
Mickalene Thomas
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Mickalene Thomas presents a rousing portrait of race in the USA.
Originally created in 2017, Resist spans nearly a century of African American history. Mickalene appropriates photojournalistic imagery that centres on moments of racist violence such as the Tulsa Race Massacre (1921), and police dogs attacking a civil rights protestor in Birmingham Alabama (1963). Alongside the brutality she interjects symbols of Black resistance, like protestors bearing ‘freedom’ placards and a portrait of writer and activist James Baldwin. With Resist, Mickalene connects her work to this lineage of freedom fighters.
Mickalene’s technique of overlapping photographs lends itself to the medium of silkscreen printing. As a print, Resist also asks us to consider how news and histories are disseminated. This edition extends that call beyond the confines of a single work, taking Mickalene’s overtly political message to homes around the world.
Mickalene Thomas10 collaborationsMickalene Thomas set out to change the face of art history, and that's exactly what she did. In her loud but tender multimedia portraits, Black femme power, beauty and desire take centre stage. Whether it's the artist herself, her mother, a lover, a friend or a public figure like Michelle Obama, each woman tells her own story. In Thomas' words: "The gaze of my work is unapologetically a Black woman's gaze loving other Black women."¹ This deep sense of adoration and respect comes through in all of her art – not just her portraits but her interiors and photography too. The bright Pop Art-esque blend of photography, collage, paint and craft shop materials like rhinestones has a celebratory feel designed to uplift and empower the next generation. "For me, it's all about trying to inspire and make young girls, when they walk into a space like [a museum], feel a sense of themselves. They see that they're represented."
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