Princess

TSCHABALALA SELF (B. 1990)

Princess

signed, numbered and dated in black felt tip pen (on the reverse)

hand-sewn cotton and tulle on cotton

tapestry: 50 3/4 x 39 5/8 inches (128.9 x 100.6 cm)

framed: 52 1/2 x 42 1/4 (133.4 x 107.3 cm)

Executed in 2018. This work is number 29 from an edition of 30 plus 2 artist’s proofs.

Commissioned for The Art of Empowerment, UN Women UK, London.

PROVENANCE:

UN Women UK, The Art of Empowerment, courtesy of the artist; Paddle8, London, November 2018

Private collection, London

Phillips, London, 12 December 2019, lot 2

Private collection

Phillips, London, 7 June 2023, lot 47

Acquired from the above sale by the present owner

NOTES:

Born in Harlem, New York in 1990, Tschabalala Self is known for her vibrant and dynamic depictions of the female form. Her practice explores cultural attitudes towards race and gender through a distinctive combination of painting, printmaking and sewn fabric techniques. For the inaugural Art of Empowerment programme, UN Women UK commissioned Self to re-interpret her well-known 2017 artwork Princess into a special limited edition. In the original artwork, Self explored the politicization and sexualization of black bodies, which she reimagines here with brightly colored quilted fabrics and decorative stitching techniques.