I'd Hit That 2023

Curator: Joana Choumali's large scale artwork, "I'd Hit That," presents a figure with red threads hanging down from the lower torso. The dimensions are about 260 by 100 centimeters. My first impression is that its scale amplifies the tension I feel looking at it. Editor: The integration of the printed image and the handmade—the red threads—is quite striking. It prompts questions about the nature of labor, specifically how different processes of making contribute to the meaning. Curator: Absolutely. I see it as a commentary on objectification, the "I'd Hit That" slogan implicating the viewer in a system that reduces bodies to objects. The threads, suggesting dismemberment, heighten this critique. Editor: And what about the material quality of those threads, how they contrast with the smooth photographic surface? Does the artist wish to bring forth the idea of precarity, or even violence, against the body? Curator: Perhaps, and how the means of representing the body—the photograph—can itself be a form of violence. It certainly makes you think about the artist's process, and the power dynamics embedded within. Editor: Considering Choumali's broader body of work, this piece fits into her exploration of identity, especially within the context of contemporary African life. It offers us a space to consider the complex layers of representation. Curator: I agree. It forces us to think about the relationship between our material lives and our social identities.