Tschabalala Self: Skin Tight at ACCA

Until November 23, the Australian Centre for Contemporary Art (ACCA) hosts Skin Tight, the debut Australian solo exhibition of Harlem-born artist Tschabalala Self. Known internationally for her bold, figurative works that layer fabric, collage and paint, Self has become one of the most in-demand contemporary artists of her generation.

At ACCA, Self presents new and recent large-scale paintings, works on paper and an ambitious three-channel video installation. Her exuberant figures, at once familiar and fantastical, reflect on Black embodiment and experience – drawing on references from the Harlem Renaissance, jazz, dance and her own familial ties to New Orleans. These aren’t portraits of singular people so much as composites of memory, culture and imagination.

For Skin Tight, Self has transformed ACCA’s main gallery into a series of immersive, psychologically charged environments. Through layered cut-outs, wall drawings and unexpected sightlines, visitors move through a world that blurs the boundaries between art object and installation space. The result is a place where themes of beauty, voyeurism, exhibitionism, myth-making and identity are explored with honesty and vitality.

Born in Harlem in 1990, Self works out of her studio in New York’s Hudson Valley. She has shown at major institutions around the world, from MoMA PS1 in New York to London’s Barbican. This is her first solo exhibition on Australian shores.

Curated by Dr Shelley McSpedden and Myles Russell-Cook, Skin Tight is free to visit. Find out more at acca.melbourne/.

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