6) Simone Leigh: Sculpting Power, Rewriting Presence
There are artists who make objects.And then there are artists who quietly—and relentlessly—shift the center of gravity. Simone Leigh belongs to the latter. Born in Chicago in 1967, Leigh didn’t rush into the art world with the usual urgency. In fact, she resisted it. Studied philosophy. Considered becoming a social worker. Tried, quite deliberately, not to be an artist. And yet—inevitably—she became one. Because some practices are not choices, but conditions. Today, Leigh is one of the most influential voices in contemporary art, known for monumental sculptures and immersive installations that do something deceptively simple: they place Black women—historically marginalized, overlooked, misread—firmly at the center. Not as subjects.As structures. The Body as Architecture Leigh’s work is immediately recognisable: powerful, often...