Diana Chire

Diana Chire is a Los Angeles-based Somali artist and director who first received national attention when she presented herself nude in her exhibit at the 2015 Frieze Art Fair in London.[1][2][3][4] Her art themes feature gender, sexuality and the nature of racial identity.[5]

Biography

Chire was born in Somalia, and moved to London, England, when she was five.[6][7] She studied at Westminster University.[1] She is the editor and publisher of arts newspaper She-Zine.[8]

Chire is known for her performance artworks that focus on black female identity, exposing the gender imbalances in the art world,[9] and for using her own body as a medium.[1][3][6][10] She shaved her head in 2016, explaining that as she became more comfortable with using her body as a medium, she felt she no longer needed to wear weaves or straighten her hair to be beautiful.[7] She stitched her weave onto pillowcases.[11]

References

  1. ^ a b c Lawrence, Vanessa. "How British Artist Diana Chire Uses Her Body as a Feminist Medium". W Magazine.
  2. ^ "An Interview with the Video Artist and Curator Diana Chire in her Hackney Studio, London". Arteviste. Retrieved 29 March 2018.
  3. ^ a b "Diana Chire invite les artistes femmes à se réapproprier leur corps". www.iggymagazine.com (in French). Retrieved 29 March 2018.
  4. ^ "TAKE! EAT!". SUITCASE Magazine. Retrieved 29 March 2018.
  5. ^ "Women Artists by Simone Steenberg". Vogue.it (in Italian). 12 July 2016. Retrieved 29 March 2018.
  6. ^ a b "Artist Diana Chire on listening to black women's rage - Notion Magazine". Notion Magazine. 7 December 2016. Retrieved 29 March 2018.
  7. ^ a b "This artist shaved her head to get back to her roots". Vice.com. 22 June 2017. Retrieved 29 March 2018.
  8. ^ GQ. "Jeff Koons' Louis Vuitton bags are like marmite". Retrieved 29 March 2018.
  9. ^ "The guerilla exhibition promoting women artists on the doorstep of Frieze". Vice.com. 7 October 2015. Retrieved 29 March 2018.
  10. ^ "Who is Diana Chire?". Coeval Magazine. Retrieved 29 March 2018.
  11. ^ "This artist shaved her head, then stitched her weave onto pillowcases". Lost At E Minor. 1 August 2017. Retrieved 29 March 2018.


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