Tschabalala Self: Skin Tight
Tschabalala Self ’s first Australian solo exhibition, Skin Tight, offers a broad survey of new and recent works. Known for her vibrant blend of collage, fabric, painting, and printmaking, Self creates highly stylised, textured portraits that examine identity, race, sexuality, and power with both irreverence and sensitivity. The exhibition includes large-scale paintings and drawings alongside immersive installations, custom-designed furniture and music videos. Self ’s practice is rooted in her Harlem upbringing and shaped by ancestral ties to New Orleans, drawing upon the diverse creative legacies of her communities. In recent years, she has focused her attention on the politics and poetics of beauty as a form of resistance and a means of self-determination. Her characters, often composed from fragments of textiles and gestures, are both playful and assertive, occupying space with an empowered presence. Skin Tight offers a rare and intimate encounter with one of the most original contemporary artists working today, and runs from September 12 to November 23, 2025.
Image credit: TSCHABALALA SELF, Study 10 on Wood with Elevating Figure, 2025, acrylic paint, ink, dye, fabric, canvas, thread and arches paper on wood panel, 30 x 40 cm. Courtesy of the artist and ACCA, Naarm/ Melbourne
