Betye Saar, Mti 1973. Tate. © reserved.
This room brings together two artists from different generations and places whose art reimagines historical narratives and visual references to the past
Betye Saar’s Mti is a shrine-like sculpture assembled from found materials and painted with different cultural and spiritual symbols. Since the 1960s, Saar has created assemblages that address Black experiences in the US and has worked to confront and counter racist representations in popular culture. In Mti Saar incorporates discarded objects, talismans, and iconography from African and Caribbean cultures to explore spirituality, magic and the occult.
Saar has said, ‘I’m intrigued with combining the remnant of memories, fragments of relics and ordinary objects... It’s a way of delving into the past and reaching into the future simultaneously. The art itself becomes the bridge.’
Firelei Báez’s paintings draw from Dominican and Haitian history, mythology and folklore, as well as science fiction. Untitled (A Map of the British Empire in America) imaginatively renders a figure from Dominican folklore in colossal scale on top of a British colonial map of the Caribbean. By connecting and reworking references from the past, Báez’s painting addresses the ongoing impact of colonialism and imagines new possibilities for the future.
Pacita Abad, European Mask 1990
To make European Mask, Abad used the European art technique of screen-printing with acrylic paint. The title plays on a convention in western art history that often crudely summarised cultural artefacts from non-western cultures as ‘African’ or ‘Asian’ rather than naming the country of origin. The rich tapestry of textures, colours and found objects in the work reflect Abad’s commitment to celebrate different cultures. As the artist said, ‘Art is for other people. It’s not just for yourself.’
Gallery label, April 2025
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artworks in Betye Saar and Firelei Baez
Pacita Abad, Bacongo VI 1986
The title of the series this work belongs to – Bacongo – references the Bantu peoples, an ethnic grouping of about 400 distinct Indigenous peoples across Central Africa. Abad was inspired by bifwebe face masks, used by the Songye and Luba peoples in ritualistic ceremonies to channel spirits. Abad introduced a sculptural effect by flattening the rounded forms of the masks and extending them onto canvases, which she stuffed and sewed. She then added abstract patterns, bright colours and reflective elements.
Gallery label, April 2025
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artworks in Betye Saar and Firelei Baez
Pacita Abad, Bacongo III 1986
The title of the series this work belongs to – Bacongo – references the Bantu peoples, an ethnic grouping of about 400 distinct Indigenous peoples across Central Africa. Abad was inspired by bifwebe face masks, used by the Songye and Luba peoples in ritualistic ceremonies to channel spirits. Abad introduced a sculptural effect by flattening the rounded forms of the masks and extending them onto canvases, which she stuffed and sewed. She then added abstract patterns, bright colours and reflective elements.
Gallery label, April 2025
3/3
artworks in Betye Saar and Firelei Baez
Art in this room
Pacita Abad
European Mask
1990
Pacita Abad
Bacongo VI
1986
Pacita Abad
Bacongo III
1986