Tschabalala Self

Heroine No. 2

In Heroine No. 2, a female figure stands in the Virabhadrasana II, or the Warrior II yoga pose. Hudson Valley-based artist Tschabalala Self constructs the figure’s body with fabric she has collected over the years, surrounding her female warrior with a pattern of vivid flowers. By using motifs and materials typically associated with femininity to depict a figure of unmovable strength, Self casts the Black female body as a powerful protagonist. She places her figures in “liminal spaces” in which Black women can transcend the social scripts and stereotypes that often constrict them.