The Bathers, 2015, and Mother and Child, 2016

Rujeko Hockley: The Bathers is a painting of two young women holding hands and staring out at the viewer. In their appearance, in their dress, and in the title of the painting, they're connected to a very long history in Western art. We see paintings by artists like Paul Cézanne, Pierre-Auguste Renoir, Titian, etc., showing images of bathers. Sherald has been thinking about this connection to art history in which we have not historically seen Black subjects portrayed in this way, and certainly also not at leisure in the way that these young women very clearly depict.

Near to this painting is another painting called Mother and Child. Mother and Child, like The Bathers, is one of the most common and iconic topics of depiction in both Western art, but also going back into human history, ancient Egyptian art, ancient Greek art, cave paintings. This depiction of mother and child is uniquely human, and so again, Sherald is, here, interested in thinking about where do Black subjects fit into this arc of depiction and this arc of art history?