Apolonia Sokol
Si vous n'aimez pas les "étrangers", 2022
Oil on linen
45 x 55 cm
Emblematic of Sokol's iconographic commitment to public demonstrations and racialized bodies, in this painting three women of color stand together beneath a sign, with two of them looking directly at...
Emblematic of Sokol's iconographic commitment to public demonstrations and racialized bodies, in this painting three women of color stand together beneath a sign, with two of them looking directly at the viewer, while over half of the canvas is occupied by the poignant textual message: “If you don’t like foreigners, you shouldn’t have colonized us.” This phrase recalls and challenges Western notions of “otherness.” Through their gazes, the women seem to reclaim the projected otherness, reminding viewers of colonialism as a deep-seated historical and enduring transgression of boundaries, underlying many present-day conflicts.
The powerful message, coupled with the direct gaze of the two women, shifts the dialogue from a simple offense to a broader institutional denial. By choosing to paint this moment from a public protest, Sokol embeds both her artwork and the act of painting itself in a collective experience of resistance against violence, situating her work within the history of current political struggles. Her painting bears witness to the present and seeks to influence it, exposing the blind spots of traditional pictorial representation.