Transcript:

Welcome to What I Buy and Why, where I highlight must-see art that goes beyond aesthetics. Today we're diving into Sharon Walters’ first solo exhibition in London, Seeing Ourselves, which is running for just two more weeks at Hackelbury. Sharon's work celebrates Black women, their history, culture, and identity through these intricate hand-assembled collages. Each piece is multidimensional, and it opens up space for women, often excluded from mainstream narratives. The exhibition itself responds to Frances Borzello's book on self-portraits by white Western women artists. And Sharon's really trying to reclaim this space, and offers a new, inclusive way of seeing Black women and creating alternative narratives that reflect their complex stories and experiences. When talking about it herself, Sharon says that she started making the work as a reaffirmation to take up space even in spaces where I didn't see myself reflected back. And I think it's this vulnerability that allows her to craft empowering and accessible works. She uses materials like magazine clippings and donated photos to spark these conversations that are absolutely about empowerment, diversity, and representation. So if you're wondering what I'd buy and why right now, it's one of Sharon's works, because I think they are a must-have for anyone that's passionate about race, about equality, about gender equality, and representation.