H x W x D: 156.3 x 389 x 135 cm (61 9/16 x 153 1/8 x 53 1/8 in.)
Type:
Photograph
Geography:
South Africa
Date:
2000
Label Text:
These works are from the series "Discolored," begun in 1999, in which Searle uses her body as a canvas, staining different body parts with henna dye to suggest bruising, trauma, abuse, disease and eventual healing. Manipulating skin color allows Searle to comment upon the history of violence and prejudice associated with shades of skin color within South African history specifically, and world history generally.
"When you talk about colour in South Africa as a context, you're generally talking about race. But when I use my body, I am a particular gendered individual, and in that sense there is a multiplicity of identities that's being explored within the work." (Tracy Murnik, "State of the Art." In Leadership [May 2000], pp. 54-61).
By focusing on the hand, Searle suggests the importance of fingerprints as the most personal and potent marker of our identity and as symbolic reminders of the history of passbooks and other means by which authorities controlled the physical lives of non-white South African citizens.
Description:
Monumental image of a cupped hand, stained with henna, produced through digital photography and printed on vellum. Powdered henna is sprinkled on its edges and on the floor below.
Exhibition History:
Body of Evidence-Rotation 1, National Museum of African Art, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C., June 14-October 15, 2006
Encounters with the Contemporary, National Museum of African Art, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C., January 7, 2001-January 6, 2002
Published References:
Hornbeck, S.E. 2013 Intersection Conservation Approaches to Ethnographic and Contemporary Art: Ephermeral Art at the National Museum of African Art. AIC Objects Specialty Group Postprings, vol 20, pp 220.
Hornbeck, Stephanie E. 2009. "A Conservation Conundrum: Ephemeral Art at the National Museum of African Art." African Arts 42 (3), p. 59, no. 12.
Kreamer, Christine, Mary Nooter Roberts, Elizabeth Harney and Allyson Purpura. 2007. Inscribing Meaning: Writing and Graphic Systems in African Art. Washington, D.C.: Smithsonian Institution; Milan: 5 Continents Editions, p. 65, no. 4.14.
Content Statement:
As part of our commitment to accessibility and transparency, the Smithsonian National Museum of African Art is placing its collection records online. Please note that some records are incomplete (missing image or content descriptions) and others reflect out-of-date language or systems of thought regarding how to engage with and discuss cultural heritage and the specifics of individual artworks. If you see content requiring immediate action, we will do our best to address it in a timely manner. Please email nmafacuratorial@si.edu if you have any questions.
Image Requests:
High resolution digital images are not available for some objects. For publication quality photography and permissions, please contact the Eliot Elisofon Photographic Archives at https://africa.si.edu/research/eliot-elisofon-photographic-archives/
Credit Line:
Purchased with funds provided by the Smithsonian Collections Acquisition Program
