Simone Leigh: Trophallaxis
Now - Feb 12, 2023
Thursdays 11am-9pm, Friday-Sunday 11am-6pm
Recurring weekly on Thursday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday through Feb 12, 2023
Included with museum admission.
Take in PAMM’s exhibit of Simone Leigh’s arresting sculpture Trophallaxis (2008-2017) through February 12, 2023. Named after the entomological term for the transference of liquid food between adult social insects such as bees and ants, Leigh’s chandelier-like Trophallaxis consists of an assemblage of slate-gray ceramic breast-like orbs with metal tips and zig-zagging car antennas. The sculpture suggests heightened fertility coupled with scars and marks on each vessel that bring to mind traditional African practices of body scarification. In juxtaposing these elements, Leigh alludes to the complex associations of the female body with fecundity, sexuality and the frequency with which it paradoxically serves as both a conduit for violence and a vehicle for empowerment.
The Brooklyn-based sculptor and 2018 winner of Guggenheim Museum’s prestigious Hugo Boss Prize creates large-scale sculptural works, installations and videos that address the social histories and subjective experiences of Black women. Her works draw on a myriad of sources that include ethnography, folklore, alternative healing traditions, and buried historical viewpoints.