Claudette Johnson
1982–86
Watercolour, gouache and pastel on paper
152.5 x 122 cm
Claudette Johnson made the central work in this trilogy in 1982 for her degree show at Wolverhampton Polytechnic. She recalled that the woman she had asked to model for her ‘put her hands behind her head and planted her feet wide – a position of supreme confidence. I felt this pose challenged the marginalisation of Black women’.
In 1986, having moved to London, Johnson drew two other women, asking them to adopt poses that reflected who they were. The resulting drawings were combined with the earlier work to form Trilogy. As Johnson explained, ‘Their contrasting poses ensured that they can be seen to exist beyond the trope of the “strong Black woman”.’
The resulting three-part work is a major early statement of Johnson’s ongoing preoccupation with drawing Black women on a large scale and in ways that resist persistent stereotypes.