Swiss museum offers insights into racism

'Someone to Watch Over Me' by Carrie Mae Weems Courtesy the Artist, Jack Shainman Gallery and Galerie Barbara Thumm

The Kunstmuseum Basel presents works by Carrie Mae Weems. The African-American photo and installation artist deals with the blind spots of American and European history in a way that is as gripping as it is subtle and humorous.

It is a baroque image of luxurious opulence and symbolism: a table with a heavy, folded tablecloth, covered with floral arrangements, with a jewelled cup, with cheese, bread and fruit; behind it sits a woman in fur, underneath she is wearing a trainer’s jacket.

This is already an irritating moment. In addition: the main actress in the scenery, staged in the Dutch Baroque style, is black; she is hip hop icon Marie J. Blige. It is as if one of the representatives of the victims of the exploitative “golden age” had taken on the role of the colonialists of that time.

This large format photograph is by artist Carrie Mae Weems. It is part of the exhibition with the sensible title “The Evidence of Things not Seen”.

Weems’ works and series of works tell gripping stories, partly supported by texts, about the history of violence against black people, exploitation, slavery and racism. Not far from the baroque scene you can see portraits of black people who had to live in poverty and without any social acceptance.

The photographs are garnished with ironic racist sayings, the reproduction of which is prohibited here.

Weems is a star in the US, but you should get to know her in Switzerland. The exhibition in the House for the Present in the Kunstmuseum Basel shows that it is worth it.

Photographs that show re-enactments of violent moments in history in a dark room are captivating – based on the Pietà: like the grieving Mary with her dead son Jesus on her lap, Williams shows a victim of the atomic bomb in Hiroshima or a scene from the assassination attempt on Martin Luther King. In such stirring photo series, the artist herself can often be seen as the protagonist.

In addition, groups of works are exhibited that, with their subtle humor, make you smile and at the same time make you think. This includes the series entitled “And 22 Million Very Tired and Very Angry People”: everyday objects that could play a role in an uprising are depicted in reddish pastel colors A hammer called a “hammer”, a wallwood with the description “By Any Means Necessary” or a globe with the caption “A Hot Spot in a Corrupt World”.

“Carrie Mae Weems – The Evidence of Things Not Seen” can be seen in the House for the Present at the Kunstmuseum Basel until April 7, 2024.

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