- Artists
We are pleased to present Pink Tongue, Brown Cheek, showcasing the work of Rosa-Johan Uddoh.
With its title punning on Franz Fanon’s seminal text, Black Skin, White Masks, Uddoh’s works explore masks and personas, with tongue-in-cheek irony. One work that is central in the exhibition is Practice Makes Perfect, 2020 a video work where Uddoh explores popular culture and fantasy using a tongue twister based on an essential essay by Stuart Hall titled ‘What is this “Black” in Black popular culture?’.
Alongside her collaborator Louis Brown, Uddoh explores other themes such as the Black curriculum as well as addressing questions of racism in popular culture. This work also touches on whether government regulations consider the care needs of children and young people.
Biography
Rosa-Johan Uddoh (b.1993, Croydon) is an interdisciplinary artist working towards radical self-love. She is inspired by Black feminist practice and writing. Through performance, writing and multi-media installation, she explores places, objects and celebrities in British popular culture, and their effects on self-formation. Collaboration is key to Rosa’s work, often working together with children, activists and other artists to explore themes that impact our communities and share knowledge.
Rosa is a lecturer in Performance at Central Saint Martins. She was a finalist for Arts Foundation Futures Awards 2021. Rosa was the Liverpool Biennial and John Moores University Fellow 2018-2019 and was the Stuart Hall Library Resident for 2020. She was a Sarabande: Lee Alexander Mc Queen Scholar.
Rosa’s solo presentations include: ‘Practice Makes Perfect’, Focal Point Gallery, touring to Bluecoat (Southend-on-sea and Liverpool 2021), ‘”She is still alive!”’, Destiny’s (Oslo, 2020), ‘Studies for Impartiality’, Jupiter Woods and ‘Sphinx at the Crystal Palace’, Black Tower Projects (both London, 2019). Group shows include: ‘Brand New Heavies’, Pioneer Works (New York, 2021), ‘Learning by Doing’, 68 Institute (Copenhagen, 2019), New Contemporaries (London & Liverpool 2018) and ‘Black Blossoms’, The Royal Standard (Liverpool, 2017). She has screened work at East London Cable’s ‘TV Dinners E03’ at Tate Modern, 2019. Rosa’s first book ‘Practice Makes Perfect’, co-published with Bookworks and Focal Point Gallery will be released in 2022.
Image: Rosa Johan Uddoh, ‘Brown Paper Envelope Test’, HD Video, 7 minutes 36 seconds, 2021, film still. Image courtesy of the artist.