AIN’T I SOFT Is a collection of humanising images of Black women, unframed from the boxes that are usually forcibly used to define their existence in a singular form. The exhibition seeks to challenge the dichotomous logic that being a Black woman cannot be polysemous. Being continuously exposed to the controlling imagery that conclusively portrays women in black skin as stoic beings often deny the space for them to exist in any other form.

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AIN’T I SOFT is the capturing of a small part of the bigger picture to decolonise identity. Not to play into the construct of gender expression but rather a rebellious statement that identity can be made up of a heterogeneous mixture of many definitions of self. What the exhibition hopes to evoke is the exploration of a post-humanist form of thinking that will allow humans to participate in defining themselves to the world as opposed to letting the world define them.

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An exhibition by object to subject, in collaboration with HOME

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“The Self Portrait is a celebration of Black Women photographers, demonstrating the nuance of not only the stories we tell, but the people behind the lens telling them. The show is an acknowledgement of the value of archiving the photographic history of Black photographers in the UK while simultaneously making visible and remembering the people who were at the forefront (or behind the scenes) of that history.” - Ronan Mckenzie, Curator

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Including the works of: Denisha Anderson, Jennie Baptiste, Tino Chiwariro, Christina Ebenezer, Joy Gregory, Adama Jalloh, Olivia Lifungula, Ronan Mckenzie, Christina Nwabugo, Lucie Rox, Amaal Said, Ejatu Shaw and Tori Taiwo.

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In Collaboration with WePresent

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