We at the MAC are Exceedingly Proud to Present an Exhibition of Capable Artworks by the Notable Hand of the Celebrated American, Kara Elizabeth Walker, Negress.

Renouncing the sensitivity that often shrouds the subject, American artist Kara Walker (b.1969) critically and unapologetically interrogates underlying racial and gender tensions in today’s society.

Through characters drawn from American popular literature, culture and history, Walker exposes the myths that lie beneath cultural archetypes and the darker aspects of human behaviour.

This exhibition brings together several important bodies of recent work. Dust Jackets for the Niggerati is a series of large graphite drawings, conceived as book covers for unwritten essays and works of fiction, which investigates pivotal transitions in black American history and the missing narratives of the black migration. These will be shown alongside three video installations: Fall Frum Grace, Miss Pipi’s Blue Tale, 8 Possible Beginnings or: The Creation of African-America, a Moving Picture by Kara E. Walker and National Archives Microfilm Publication M999 Roll 34: Bureau of Refugees, Freedmen and Abandoned Lands: Six Miles from Springfield on the Franklin Road. Also featured in the exhibition are three intricately cut silhouette installations, including a new work jointly commissioned with Camden Arts Centre, The Sovereign Citizens Sesquicentennial Civil War Celebration.

Connecting all of the work is an examination of power, racial myths and stereotypes. Using graphically simple and traditional media, Walker articulates suffering and violence within American history that continues to resonate in contemporary culture.

This will be the first major exhibition of Walker’s work in Ireland.

Organised in partnership with Camden Arts Centre, London with support from Sikkema Jenkins & Co, New York and Victoria Miro Gallery, London.

The Metropolitan Arts Centre
10 Exchange Street West
Belfast BT1 2NJ United Kingdom
Ph. +44 (0)28 90235053
www.themaclive.com

Opening hours
Daily from 10am to 7pm

Related images

  1. Kara Walker, Prop, 2010 Graphite and pastel on paper 87.75 x 72 inches 222.9 x 182.9 cm
  2. Kara Walker Auntie Walker's Wall Sampler for Savages, 2013 Cut paper on wall Installation variable, approximately 132 x 288 inches (335.3 x 731.5 cm) Courtesy the artist and Sikkema Jenkins & Co, New York
  3. Kara Walker, The Daily Constitution 1878, 2011 Graphite and pastel on paper 72 x 77.75 inches 182.9 x 197.5 cm
  4. Kara Walker shows her daughter art from her exhibition at the MAC which opens on Friday and runs until April 27th
  5. Kara Walker at the launch of her exhibition at the MAC which opens on Friday and runs until April 27th
  6. Curator at The MAC, Hugh Mulholland and Kara Walker at the launch of her exhibition at the MAC which opens on Friday and runs until April 27th