Kiss My Ass

Saartjie (Sarah) Baartman known as the “Hottentot Venus” was an African woman who was paraded around and displayed on a 2 foot pedestal at European circus’ to be objectified specifically for her body shape and buttocks. After Baartman’s death, a plaster casting of her body was made by Georges Couvier. Baartman’s brains and genitals were also pickled and displayed in the Musee de L’Homme (Museum of Mankind). Nelson Mandela requested a repatriation of Baartman’s remains and Cuvier's plaster casting after his election as President of Eastern Cape South Africa in 1994. The French Government did not agree to return Saartjie Baartman’s remains until March 2002. Her remains were buried in the Eastern Cape in August 2002. 

Through mass media, images, and science, the black female body has been oppressed and dehumanized due to white ideas and social constructs surrounding black womanhood. Kiss My Ass ass explores my subjectivity and the gaze through self-portraiture and performance. Reflecting on Saartjie Baartman’s story I am addressing the gaze, while exploring notions of reclaiming the black female body. Emphasizing on the ass which is a representation of the body sits on a 6 foot pedestal. This references the 2 foot pedestal Baartman was displayed upon. My intentions are to shift the gaze of the audience to look upward rather than viewing the work at a lower, more accessible gaze.

Growing up in New Orleans I often encountered ships yards hoisting cargo, and houses that rested on cinder blocks. While using similar materials from my memories of home, I am demonstrating the act of lifting, reclaiming found materials, and inserting my body to build on conversations of reclaiming the black female body and black womanhood. 

Jer’Lisa Devezin, 2019