Love beyond romance - Mickalene Thomas’ exhibition All About Love emphasises the importance of family, sisterhood and self love
- Yellowzine
- 5 minutes ago
- 4 min read
The work is bold, commanding and inviting. Thomas’ use of rhinestones - a material I’d previously associated with the back of a flared velour tracksuit, or my teenage iPhone 3G phone case - seemed unusual to use beyond crafting, let alone in portraiture. There’s a dynamic quality that the rhinestones add to the work, as light reflects off the carefully positioned gems. Thomas is an alchemist. She takes seemingly mundane materials and uses them to create dazzling portrayals of Black women. It’s a reminder that there are no rules in art, and her practice speaks to the long-standing tradition of Black women making beautiful homes, delicious food, fashion trends and so much more with the limited materials and tools at their disposal, because necessity is the mother of invention.
The namesake for Mickalene Thomas’ exhibition was inspired by the book All About Love, which was penned by author, educator and social critic bell hooks and published in 1999. Despite it being over two and a half decades since its release, the book has garnered a huge amount of traction in recent years. In 2023, All About Love sold more than 170,000 copies, compared to just over 27,000 in 2018. Through word of mouth, social media and the recent resurgence of book clubs, readers are eager to digest the 13 chapters that hooks uses to explore what love is and how she relates to it in a society devoid of a blueprint for learning to love.
Contemporary dating and romantic love has seemingly been defined by devaluing genuine connection in pursuit of that sweet sweet dopamine hit from the infinite scrollathon of potential matches on apps. Not to mention situationships. The noticeable decline in already sporadic crushes (AKA the crush market crash), as well as the death of meet-cutes might indicate that romance is out. It seems like nobody wants to flirt these days. With that in mind, the appetite for art exploring love in all of its facets seems logical. Our contemporary dating experiences have left us yearning for a more expansive definition and experience of love beyond romance, and Mickalene Thomas shows us the beauty of this pursuit through her art.
Mickalene Thomas is a New York-based artist known for her photography, portraiture, collage and use of materials like rhinestones, acrylic and enamel. The work encourages us to pursue experiencing all of the different types of love that we have access to. The artist portrays family members, friends, lovers, artists and writers that she admires, as well as herself. The quote “to truly love we must learn to mix various ingredients - care, affection, recognition, respect, commitment, and trust, as well as honest and open communication” decorates one of the walls of Thomas’ solo exhibition at the Hayward Gallery. I’m uncertain whether this quote was a favourite of the artist, or whether it was intentionally selected to reflect the unique recipe of different materials and techniques - or ingredients - she used to portray the beautiful Black women in her work. We’re used to sonic sampling, hearing familiar clips or references in music, but Thomas uses various materials and collage to reference the past, and arrange them in a way that facilitates storytelling.
On the mezzanine of the main gallery, two large installations occupy a portion of the room. They are replicas of living rooms that Thomas associates with her formative years. I walked around the installations taking in the details. Black kitten heels on a prayer rug, photography of Black women on the walls, a Donna Summer record leaned against a small table next to a sofa. I reflected on how home life (familial or chosen), represents a safe space for marginalised and racialised people, as it is one of the few places we can truly be ourselves.
Many of the women Thomas portrays are sat, reclining or sprawled over sofas, luscious furnishings or beds, each of them embodies the essence of a soft life babe. Historically, the portrayal of Black women in art has centered around work, productivity, servitude or representing a dichotomy in opposition to whiteness. Thomas’ portrayals of home life, rest and relaxation are radical because they speak to the fullness of the lives that we make for ourselves. She presents our homes as spaces of intimacy, belonging and self actualisation.
This feeling of intimacy is present throughout Thomas’ work. Whether it’s the feeling of being in the rooms that hold memories the artist cherishes, or the sensual portrait of an ex lover. There is a sense of trust between the artist and the sitter, and by extension, a sense of trust that is automatically attributed to the viewer. Arguably, trust has been absent from historical portrayals of Black people often unnamed in paintings, and unacknowledged in art history. My interpretation of Thomas’ work is that it contributes to dismantling this power dynamic.
The scale of Thomas’ works are arresting. There is a regal quality to the portraits that depicts the sitters as important people - because they are important to the artist. The sitters look directly at the viewer, commanding attention, oozing confidence and self-assuredness. Mickalene’s choice to portray her family, friends and lovers speaks to the importance of the various relationships needed to make us feel whole, and the sense of belonging that is fostered and nurtured by these different relationships. It is unreasonable - and arguably irresponsible - to rely on one person for everything. Thomas’s work speaks to the necessity for multiple people to pour into your cup so that you can pour into others. As bell hooks states, “a generous heart is always open, always ready to receive our going and coming. In the midst of such love we need never fear abandonment. This is the most precious gift true love offers - the experience of knowing we always belong.” (bell hooks, All About Love: New Visions, pg 224)
