According to Eko Eshun, curator of The Time Is Always Now: Artists Reframe the Black Figure that was shown in London and Philadelphia during 2024, we are currently witnessing a flourishing of Black artists with a shift in the gaze portraying Black figures. No longer does the mere depiction of black skin say everything about an individual’s disposition and life experiences. What it means to be Black is an open question. This is reflected in Tschabalala Self’s artworks in Around the Way, her first exhibition in the Nordic region. The title of this absorbing installation—a slang term for neighbourhood—alludes to Harlem, the predominantly black area of Upper Manhattan where she was born and raised. 

Consequently, the first gallery represents a street. In addition to being lined with a pattern that suggests Harlem’s historic brownstone façades, it introduces viewers to a stimulating array of diverse characters. For example, to create the enormous triptych 12pm on 145 Street (2022), which tends to dominate this space, Self has used denim, a digital printed t-shirt, velvet, lace, tulle, painted canvas, dyed canvas, acrylic and vinyl emulsion paint on canvas. Though Self sees herself as a painter, the designation is not wholly irrefutable, at least in my view. The general character of Self’s compositions suggest she has been looking at Francis Bacon’s paintings, the patterns in Picasso’s Three Musicians (2021) and, perhaps, the dynamic hues

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