Tschabalala Self’s 'Bodega Run' Opens at the Swiss Institute in a Special Installation
Installation view, Tschabalala Self, Bodega Run, Swiss Institute, New York, 2024. Courtesy of the artist, Pilar Corrias Gallery and Galerie Eva Presenhuber
On January 11th the Swiss Institute opened Tschabalala Self’s long term project Bodega Run, along with a book launch. For three days, SI hosted this special installation which included new paintings, sculptures, and wall-mounted reliefs, spotlighting the infamous New York City corner stores as a cultural landmark.
Started in 2017, Bodega Run contextualizes the corner store as a significant site of Black and Brown culture in the city, as a “a central institution in the collective imagination and everyday realities of multiple communities of color in New York City.” Self’s hyper textured and colorful work reimagines the mundane act of stopping by the corner store, as a playful journey into a world in which the monotonous acquires new meaning.
The accompanying book weaves together various genres such as poetry, afro-futurism, fiction, family history as well as political and social criticism. It includes contributions by Ayanna Dozier, Raven Rakia, Loryn Lopes, Naomi Fry, Roya Marsh, G’Ra Asim, Carolyn “CC” Concepcion, Joshua Bennett, and a conversation between Self and Sasha Bonét.
