Frida Orupabo | Clover I & II

Orupabo opposes constructions within our visual culture through reworking of existing images

A woman’s face is seen through a cloverleaf-shaped opening. The white foreground emphazises the act of looking as it creates an opening from which the woman comes into view. Orupabo deliberately uses the cloverleaf shape to frame the motif as if it were a keyhole you peeped through. With a strained expression on her face, the intimate act of observing another person is disrupted by the woman’s gaze, shifting the power relationship. Individual details are accentuated using the blind embossing technique, which highlights sections of the work by printing without ink.

Orupabo has consistently reminded us of the power of the gaze and the impact of images by letting figures re-emerge as active subjects that refuse to be objectified. Clover I and II depict the actress Carol Speed portraying the title character in the 1974 blaxploitation horror movie Abby. The plot of the film is so closely based on that of The Exorcist that it was withdrawn from theatres shortly after its release due to accusations of plagiarism; its main unique feature being its heavy reliance on racist and sexualized stereotypes in the portrayal of its protagonist.

Horror films, especially those with a Black cast or director, have been an important source of inspiration for Orupabo. The genre is profoundly contradictory; while the majority of films focus on the exploitation and objectification of Black characters, the genre has also been used to explore social issues and counter racial stereotypes, contributing to the humanisation of Black people on screen.
Likewise, Orupabo utilises the contradictory potential of her imagery by detaching it from its original context: formerly the object of the viewer’s voyeuristic gaze, the portrayed figure now stares back out of the image. Isolated from the film plot, it becomes possible to re-interpret her frothing facial expression perhaps as anger, despair or disgust in the face of the exploitative gaze to which she is subjected.

Clover I & II are currently on view at Bonniers Konsthall in Stockholm, Sweden as part of Orupabo’s solo exhibition On Lies, Secrets and Silence until 10 November 2024.