If Not The Tree Then Check Your Roots is the new show in Brixton’s Tate Library. Artist Marcia Bennett-Male is a stone carver who also works with textiles. This makes for a show of very different works – the calm repose, muted colours and sense of permanence of the sculptures made from stone, alongside the immediacy, dynamism and bold colours of the textiles
Marcia explains: “My background is textiles….but at Wolverhampton Polytechnic I found a stoneyard and three years later I was still there….. My brain needs both… I find the rhythm and sounds of working with a hammer and chisel on stone is a very tactile experience. I feel my way to a zone. It’s very calming and meditative…..And I use the textiles as my ventriloquist’s dummy to say what I really want to say.”
And this duality shows in the works. The sculptures are intriguing but restful; lovely and very accomplished. The textiles are intriguing but not very restful. While the sculptures reveal little about Marcia beyond her aesthetic sense and wonderful skill, the textiles are very personal statements. In Marcia’s words “they deal with how I as a Black female navigate the world.”
On the surface these are bold, bright, slightly cartoonish images which are immediately attractive. But get past the playful facade and you are looking through a window on the daily battles that so many Black women face throughout their lives. Look carefully, for example, and you will see that many of the images of women betray the physical signs of struggle.
They are also complex, multi-layered pieces. There are visual clues – the use of chintz and floral patterns for example – which anchor the stories to a British context and signify that these works are about the experiences and struggles of Black women in Britain. Similarly the use of African fabrics in many of the pieces references Marcia’s African heritage. And look out for the minstrel smiles which symbolise in her words “the ‘keep calm and carry on’ approach to the world – the false smile that black people often have to use just to get from A to B”
Despite reflecting serious issues, these are not gloomy pieces. They are stories about anger and frustration but also resilience and defiance and with touches of humour.
If Not The Tree Then Check Your Roots runs until 3 November in the Tate Library, Windrush Square, SW2 1JQ. The exhibition is free and open every day in line with the Library’s opening hours.
Go and see it if you can.
