The community of Bexhill-on-Sea in the UK rallied around the artist Tschabalala Selfwith hundreds of volunteers showing up over the weekend to help restore his bronze sculpture to the De La Warr Pavilionwhich had been vandalized with white paint.
The piece, titled Seated, depicts a nearly 10-foot-tall black woman in a yellow dress and matching boots and sunhat, turning in her chair to gaze out at the ocean. The vandalism took place on May 15, with the perpetrator covering the figure’s skin with white spray paint, and followed other destructive acts at the pavilion, including breaking glass panels on the staircase leading up on the walk, according to the BBC.
Over 300 people joined forces to start cleaning up the artwork.
“Through this process of care and healing, we have been able to make it clear that these acts will not be tolerated in our community and we will continue to do the work necessary to combat racism in all its forms,” the organization said. in a press release. statementthanking those who came for the occasion, which he described as “an act of peaceful resistance”.
“I’m not surprised,” Self said in a statement following the initial incident, “especially because black women’s bodies are often targets of abuse. Seated proudly represents the beauty of blackness and femininity, and for those same reasons she was hurt: covered by her attacker in white spray paint in a vain attempt to erase her color and, in my mind, her strength.
Self, who called the vandalism a ‘lewd act’, had conceived the work – which debuted at London’s King’s Cross station in 2022 – as a larger-than-life depiction of the simple act of sitting at the rest, in a moment of peace and leisure. This is his first public work of art, commissioned by Before Art and produced in Madrid by Factum Arte. (A second, Pioneerwas recently presented at Desert X biennial in the Coachella Valley of California.)
Tschabalala Self, Seated (2023), installation view, De la Warr Pavilion, Bexhill-on-Sea. Photo by Lineker Photography, courtesy of De la Warr Pavilion, Bexhill-on-Sea.
“The woman is strong, beautiful and in control,” Self said in her artist statement. “She represents all individuals, but women in particular, who understand the power and importance of simple gestures that affirm their right to occupy space.”
De La Warr accepts donations for professional sculpture curation online, by text message, by mail, and in person at his gallery and box office. The museum plans to complete the work by June 3, when it will hold a conversation between Self and Joseph Constable, its exhibitions manager, which will also include a celebration of the restored sculpture.
“Tschabalala Self: Sitting‘ is on display at the De La Warr Pavilion, Marina, Bexhill-on-Sea, East Sussex, UK, April 19–October 29, 2023.
Follow Artnet News on Facebook:
Want to stay one step ahead of the art world? Subscribe to our newsletter to receive breaking news, revealing interviews and incisive reviews that move the conversation forward.
