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The body of work presented by Tschabalala Self in her exhibition Cotton Mouth embodies the extraordinary experience of Black American life by connecting Black America’s past to contemporary culture. She does this through the use of “elements in dyed canvas, craft paper, and fabric” in conjunction with other mediums. Self reveals the idea behind the name of this exhibition, explaining that, “Cotton mouth is when you can’t speak with ease, or are coerced into sticking to a script that you didn’t write. Cotton mouth is the reality that you’re in, because of repeated damage”. The choice of title is a burdened one, as a mouth that can no longer function serves as a metaphor for the systemic and continued silencing of Black Americans. Self’s work allows the viewer to contemplate the cultural and historical significance of the labor and sacrifice required of Black Americans to produce cotton itself during the 19th century. Some of Self’s exhibition of paintings, drawings, sculptures and an audio piece in her series Cotton Mouth are known as Spat, Sprewell, Carpet, Nate the Snake, Pocket Rocket, Fast Girl, Lil Mama 2, as well as Loveseat 1, 2, and 3 which are featured in Galerie Eva Presenhuber in New York.