Maud Sulter: Memory and Identity

Maud Sulter: Memory and Identity focuses on two aspects of the artist’s work: her portrayals of black women creatives centre stage in Zabat (1989) and Hysteria (1991), among her most important artworks, and her reflections on her family and childhood spent in Glasgow in a series of photographs and poems entitled Memories of Childhood (1993) in which she revisited her archive of family snaps to reconsider significant moments from her Scottish upbringing and her experiences of a diasporic childhood. Also included are two works which address the long standing connections between the global south and the global north, Africa and Europe: Twa Blak Wimmin (1997) and Scots wi'Afro (2003). Zabat and Hysteria channel elements from nineteenth-century photography such as backdrops, costumes and accessories as well as poses and arrangements from grand manner portraits and in Zabat ornate gold frames chosen by the artist. This is the first time Sulter's work has been shown in the setting of a historic house collection. Pollok House is a National Trust for Scotland property near the Burrell Collection. The exhibition was curated by Deborah Cherry who also wrote/co-wrote the wall panel texts and labels