Overview
Tschabalala Self presents a new sculptural work, Pioneer (2023), in the fourth edition of Desert X, the recurring exhibition that activates desert locations through site-specific installations across the Coachella Valley.
Tschabalala Self presents a new sculptural work, Pioneer (2023), in the fourth edition of Desert X, the recurring exhibition that activates desert locations through site-specific installations across the Coachella Valley.
Placed in the California desert, Pioneer exists as a figure that is simultaneously born out the historical event of America’s creation and one that has an ephemeral quality, untethered by any moment in time. The desert often references both the beginning and the end. Pioneer similarly represents the lost, expelled and forgotten Indigenous, Native and African women whose bodies and labor allowed for American expansion and growth, while also standing as a beacon of resilience for their descendants — a visual representation of their birthright and place within the American landscape.
The sculpture celebrates flexibility of the divine feminine spirit and form and the fluidity of identity in contemporary America. It is a reminder that even in the desert, we are born from water. Placed within a palm oasis of the desert, Pioneer poses the question: Does it only rain on wet land?
Palm Springs, California
