Sonia Boyce Turner Contemporary Margate
You have to let the power of this work inculcate into your senses. It’s an ‘immersive installation’ – allow yourself to be immersed!
At first it just seems to be random videos of female singers alongside wallpapering of faces and patterns, but talk to the curators, read the guidelines, think and work at what you’ve now learned and let the works, work on you and the exhibition speaks volumes.
What performed best for me was the gold boxes supporting the CD cases: iron pyrites, fools’ gold contrasting with the real gold of the black female artists’ genuine works. But what do we see first? What are we in danger of mistakenly holding up as more valuable?
With contemporary art, you have work at it. The interpretation is not done for you, the image doesn’t often speak for itself. You have to allow the image/sound/performance to project into your mind, your situation, your circumstances, background and hopes and fears. You may then arrive at a completely different destination, opinion, self-reflection to those with you, to the rest of the room.
Try and feel free to let this happen, feel your way into yourself. What is the work saying to you about itself and indeed about yourself?
‘Feeling Her Way’ is from Boyce’s ‘Devotional Collection, documenting the cultural contribution Black British female musicians have made to international culture.
The work was originally commissioned by the British Council for the British Pavilion at the 59th International Art Exhibition – La Biennale de Venezia in 2022. It was awarded the Golden Lion for the Best National Participation (Source: Turner Contemporary)
Sonia Boyce Turner Contemporary Margate