Radical Acts of Care: Act III

Simone Leigh

August 27 – September 27, 2020

Untitled (M*A*S*H)

Simone Leigh | USA | digital | 11 min | 2018–19   The focus of this video is the United Order of Tents, a clandestine society of black women with a long and fascinating history of healing practices and socially-engaged strategies of care. Leigh places this avant-garde society of women against the backdrop of the television series M*A*S*H, which was set during the Korean War, fusing the language of televisual pop culture and an alternative cinematic mode of expression. With song, dance, and a lush visual aesthetic provided by cinematographer Bradford Young, this piece channels the inventive talents and powerful resilience of black women through the play of light and bodies in time and space. —Greg de Cuir Jr.   Film and stills courtesy Simone Leigh and Hauser & Wirth. Portrait (previous slide): Paul Mpagi Sepuya 

Simone Leigh

Simone Leigh’s practice incorporates sculpture, video, and installation; all are informed by her ongoing exploration of Black female-identified subjectivity. Recent projects and exhibitions include participation in the Whitney Biennial (2019), The Waiting Room (2016) at the New Museum of Contemporary Art, The Free People’s Medical Clinic (2014), a project commissioned by Creative Time (New York); and a solo exhibition at the Hammer Museum, Los Angeles (2017). Leigh is the first artist to be commissioned for the High Line Plinth (New York), where her monumental sculpture Brick House was unveiled in April 2019. Loophole of Retreat, a major solo exhibition at the Guggenheim Museum, commemorated Leigh's achievements as the winner of the Hugo Boss Prize in 2018. Portrait of Simone Leigh (above): Kyle Knodell