Zadie Xa : Dispatches from the diaspora Profile and preview of her upcoming exhibition in Paris
The patchwork of cultural touch points that appear in Zadie Xa’s gripping paintings are interpreted differently depending on whether she’s exhibiting in the East or the West. Now, as she prepares for her first show in Paris, she is learning to embrace that ambiguity.
Think of your favorite hip hop song. More likely than not, it is laden with samples situating it within an expansive and nonlinear history. This stitching together of references lays the groundwork for multidisciplinary artist Zadie Xa’s practice. “As a young person, I would recognize different vocal clips from different songs,” she remembers. “They’re an homage to a moment in time.”
(...) Xa’s Mago depiction, much like the artist herself, straddles the symbolic implications of both East and West. “I suppose it is a very soft political gesture to move that pendulum away from the center,” she says of intermingling her reference points. But the practice isn’t without its challenges. When exhibiting in the West, Xa is mindful of not exoticizing her subjects. In the East, she worries their inclusion will be interpreted as cavalier. “I have to let things go and accept that people will read things the way they do. As soon as the work leaves you, it is its own autonomous thing,” she relents.
I have to let things go and accept that people will read things the way they do. As soon as the work leaves you, it is its own autonomous thing.
Next spring, Xa will make her Parisian debut with Thaddaeus Ropac, a milestone made less daunting by the gallery’s tight-knit team. The work is still in its nascent phase, but Xa— who creates in response to the locale of each show—is exploring themes of dramaturgy, costuming, and fashion. How does an artist pushing against the center take on the global cultural capital? “In many ways, the center point is kind of exotic for me,” she contends with a smile. “It’s a different thing.”
