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AFRICAN QUEENS: Restoring History
CHANTAL COETZEE

SOLO EXHIBITION CHANTAL COETZEE.

ARTIST`S STATEMENT

The title of this exhibition, 'African Queens: Restoring History' sums up the intention of this body of work.

As an avid history geek, I soon realised that history is written by the victors and oppressors, and therefore slanted in their favour. As a child of Africa, I wondered what the true history of this vast continent could be, ravaged by so many and misrepresented by European historians, thereby justifying the colonial mindset.

As a woman, I began to wonder if any African countries have been ruled by female monarchs through the ages and, of course, how well they were received by the men of their time. To my surprise and delight, my research uncovered not one or two, but more than 20 African Queens, thus far! These Women of Africa ruled nations with extraordinary skill and strength. Some were military strategists that expanded borders, some fought off colonialists, while others vanquished slave traders. All protected their people with superb leadership and relentless stamina.

This exhibition showcases nine of these impressive women. It is part of an ongoing series of iconic portraits aimed at bringing these women out of the shadows of history and to showcase their accomplishments against the societal construct of where a woman`s place should be. The paintings of ?African Queens: Restoring History? are a series of intentionally large, confronting portraits. Each Queen is grander in scale than the human observer. She centred and unapologetically makes eye contact with the viewer. Her physical appearance is based on eyewitness accounts, etchings, or renderings and, if none are documented, I have used artistic licence based on her nationality, ethnicity, religion and accomplishments. Each portrait contains clues that reveal biographical information about the Queen and her historical context. I?ve incorporated gold leaf in each portrait, either as a background or in selected items, to add to the sense of power and royalty of each personality.

My intention with this body of work is not to diminish the achievements of men, or to further polarise the genders. My aim is to celebrate these newsworthy women and, simultaneously, turn a spotlight on the absurdity of the distinctions that we make. We discriminate based on gender, yes, but also based on nationality, race, class, religion, and age, to name just a few, and these Queens are all but invisible because of the prejudiced hand that wrote the history we know.

Despite the rise of women's activism, many governments around the globe still support policies, laws and customs that suppress and subjugate women. The road to enlightenment is long, and as Fannie Lou Hamer (civil rights leader and women's rights activist) famously said.

Nobody is free until everybody is free.