Maud Sulter (19 September 1960 – 27 February 2008) was a Scottish contemporary fine artist, photographer, writer, educator, feminist, cultural historian, and curator of

Ghana Ghana, officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country in West Africa. It is situated along the Gulf of Guinea and the Atlantic Ocean to the south, and shares borders with Côte d’Ivoire to the west, Burkina Faso to the north, and Togo to t ...

ian heritage. She began her career as a writer and poet, becoming a visual artist not long afterwards. By the end of 1985 she had shown her artwork in three exhibitions and her first collection of poetry had been published. Sulter was known for her collaborations with other Black feminist scholars and activists, capturing the lives of Black people in Europe. She was a champion of the African-American sculptor

Edmonia Lewis Mary Edmonia Lewis, also known as "Wildfire" (c. July 4, 1844 – September 17, 1907), was an American sculptor. Born in Upstate New York of mixed African-American and Native American ( Mississauga Ojibwe) heritage, she worked for most of her ...

, and was fascinated by the Haitian-born French performer

Jeanne Duval Jeanne Duval (; -1870s) was a French-born actress and courtesan of French and Caribbean descent. She was a key muse and longtime, tumultuous partner of poet and art critic Charles Baudelaire, with whom she had an on-and-off-again relationship sp ...

Early life and education

Born on 19 September 1960 in

Glasgow Glasgow is the Cities of Scotland, most populous city in Scotland, located on the banks of the River Clyde in Strathclyde, west central Scotland. It is the List of cities in the United Kingdom, third-most-populous city in the United Kingdom ...

, Scotland, to a Scottish mother and a Ghanaian father,

Margaret Busby Margaret Yvonne Busby, , Hon. FRSL (born 1944), also known as Nana Akua Ackon, is a Ghanaian-born publisher, editor, writer and broadcaster, resident in the UK. She was Britain's then youngest publisher as well as the first black female book p ...

(ed.), "Maud Sulter", ''

Daughters of Africa ''Daughters of Africa: An International Anthology of Words and Writings by Women of African Descent from the Ancient Egyptian to the Present'' is a compilation of orature and literature by more than 200 women from Africa and the African diaspora ...

'', London: Vintage, 1993, p. 921. Maud Sulter attained a

master's degree A master's degree (from Latin ) is a postgraduate academic degree awarded by universities or colleges upon completion of a course of study demonstrating mastery or a high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional prac ...

in Photographic Studies"Maud Sulter" (obituary)
'' The Herald'', 22 March 2008. Retrieved 11 March 2023 from the

University of Derby The University of Derby, formerly known as Derby College, is a public university in the city of Derby, England. It traces its history back to the establishment of the Derby Diocesan Institution for the training of schoolmistresses in 1851. It ...

. Her maternal grandfather had been an amateur photographer.

Sexuality

In Sulter's ''Call and Response'', she raised the topic of "the finest" and radical artists in London at the time identified as lesbians. Sulter noted that lesbian-identifying women typically went unspoken, then said: "I sensed a danger there, a danger that pulled me back from the brink of desire, the desire to know myself truly, and it took time to resolve the need to confront the danger head on." Sulter wrote of her poetry: "The central body of my poetic work is unequivocally the love poetry which is addressed to both genders."

Career

Art, photography, poetry

Brenda Agard Black British photographer on photo shoot 1987 London

Sulter participated in ''The Thin Black Line'' exhibition, curated by

Lubaina Himid Lubaina Himid (born 1954) is a British artist and curator. She is a professor of contemporary art at the University of Central Lancashire.ICA in London in 1985. The exhibition displayed the art of Black and Asian women artists, re-centring the visibility of Black and Asian art in the British art scene. Sulter and Himid worked closely together on projects, curating and exhibiting their work together. Maud Sulter worked across photography, film, installation, collage and photomontage, sound and performance. Her work typically referenced historical and mythical subjects. Her photography was exhibited across the UK and internationally, including at the

Victoria and Albert Museum The Victoria and Albert Museum (abbreviated V&A) in London is the world's largest museum of applied arts, decorative arts and design, housing a permanent collection of over 2.8 million objects. It was founded in 1852 and named after Queen ...

in 1987, the

Johannesburg Biennale The worldwide enthusiasm for art biennials, triennials and other –ennial events rose during the 1990s and is continuing whereas this kind of exhibition format is not a new trend. Indeed, the Venice Biennale was founded in 1895, followed in 1896 ...

(1995), and the

Scottish National Portrait Gallery National Galleries Scotland: Portrait is an art museum on Queen Street, Edinburgh. Portrait holds the national collections of portraits, all of which are of, but not necessarily by, Scots. It also holds the Scottish National Photography Collec ...

in 2003. She received a number of awards and residencies, among them the

British Telecom BT Group plc (formerly British Telecom) is a British Multinational corporation, multinational telecommunications holding company headquartered in London, England. It has operations in around 180 countries and is the largest provider of fixed-li ...

New Contemporaries New Contemporaries is an organisation in the UK that works to support emerging artists at the beginning of their careers by introducing them to the visual arts sector and to the public through a variety of platforms, including an annual exhibit ...

Award 1990 and the Momart Fellowship at

Tate Liverpool Tate Liverpool is an art gallery in Liverpool, Merseyside, England, and part of Tate, along with Tate St Ives, Cornwall, Tate Britain, London, and Tate Modern, London. The gallery was an initiative of the Merseyside Development Corporatio ...

, also in 1990. As well as writing about art history and curating many exhibitions, Sulter was a poet and playwright. Her publications works include the poetry collections ''As a Blackwoman'' (1985; her poem of the same title won the Vera Bell Prize from ACER, the Afro-Caribbean Education Resource, the previous year); ''Zabat: Poetics of a Family Tree'' (1989); and ''Sekhmet: A Decade or So of Poems'' (2005). Her play, ''Service to Empire'' (2002), was inspired by the background of former Ghana head of state

Jerry Rawlings Jerry John Rawlings (born Jerry Rawlings John; 22 June 194712 November 2020) was a Ghanaian military officer, aviator, and politician who led the country briefly in 1979 and then from 1981 to 2001. He led a military junta until 1993 and then se ...

. Two poems by Sulter are accessible online: ''"Gone But Not Forgotten''" and ''"If Leaving You''". Sulter's writings are available at the

Scottish Poetry Library The Scottish Poetry Library is a public library with charitable status specialising in contemporary Scottish writing in English, Scots and Scottish Gaelic. The library, which is free to join for UK residents, celebrated its 40th anniversary in ...

in Edinburgh, Glasgow Women's Library, the Stuart Hall Library, London,

Poetry Society The Poetry Society is a membership organisation, open to all, whose stated aim is "to promote the study, use and enjoyment of poetry". The society was founded in London in February 1909 as the Poetry Recital Society, becoming the Poetry Society ...

, London,

Tate Library The Brixton Library (also known as the Brixton Tate Library) is a public library in the London Borough of Lambeth in Brixton, SW postcode area, South West London. It was built in the 1890s by the sugar magnate Henry Tate, Sir Henry Tate and is a ...

, London, and many other libraries. Sulter was Principal Lecturer in Fine Art at

Manchester Metropolitan University Manchester Metropolitan University is located in the centre of Manchester, England. The university has 40,000 students and over 4,000 members of staff. It is home to four faculties (Arts and Humanities, Business and Law, Health and Education ...

, from 1992 to 1994. lectured at a number of other English universities, and curated her own and other artists' work at British galleries since the mid-1980s, including at The People's Gallery in London, Tate Liverpool,

Touchstones Rochdale Touchstones Rochdale is an art gallery, museum, local studies centre, visitor information centre and café forming part of the Central Library, Museum and Art Gallery in Rochdale, Greater Manchester, England. It is a Grade II listed building. ...

, Street Level Photoworks in Glasgow, with Himid at the Elbow Room in London and at her own gallery, Rich Women of Zurich in London.

Art works

''Sphinx''

Sphinx was Sulter's first major series of photographs. This series of nine black and white photographs shot in The Gambia (Harris Museum and Art Gallery Preston) was first exhibited at Sulter's solo exhibition a
The Black Art Gallery
in September 1987. The exhibition brochure includes a poem and statements and her manifesto: "We the women will fight... We the women will win."

''Zabat''

Maud Sulter defined "Zabat" as "a sacred dance performed by groups of thirteen", "an occasion of power", possibly the origin of witches sabbat, "Blackwomen's rite of passage". In this series of nine large-scale cibachrome photographs, contemporary black women artists, musicians and writers pose as ancient muses. Each portrait represented a different muse of Greek mythology. Sulter wrote a series of prose poems for each muse, titled "Zabat Narratives".

''Syrcas''

An art series named in Welsh "''Syrcas''" (English translation: Circus) was produced by Sulter in 1993, and is about reviving the forgotten history of black Europeans during

the Holocaust The Holocaust (), known in Hebrew language, Hebrew as the (), was the genocide of History of the Jews in Europe, European Jews during World War II. From 1941 to 1945, Nazi Germany and Collaboration with Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy ...

and their genocide. It includes a fictional character related to the historical background of her piece created by Sulter named Monique. Sulter created a complementary poem called "Blood Money", which has been republished in English
You can access this poem by clicking this link.
This series consists of a 16-work photomontage and is presented in five subdivided sets in close proximity. The photomontage artworks were created on top of postcards with landscapes on them and multiple layers of different images collaged. This work has been in an exhibition in the Chapelle de la Charité d'Arles, in Arles, France, in 2016. To view these works you can click thi
link and view pp. 3–5.

''Hysteria''

Created by Sulter in 1991 on a Momart residency at Tate Liverpool, ''Hysteria'', according to the artist's accompanying text, "a tells the story of a 19th-century Blackwoman artist who sails from the Americas to Europe to seek fame and fortune as a sculptor. Having achieved a successful career, she disappears

''Hysteria'' was inspired by the life and career of

, a sculptor of African-American and Chippewa heritage. This series of black-and-white and colour photographs includes eight portraits, four pairs of still lives, each pair representing the seasons, and engraved marble plaques, initially arranged around a massive piece of marble. The central character, modelled by Sulter, is the artist Hysteria. The portrait photographs represent figures in Hysteria's social and artistic circles. Sitters include

Bernardine Evaristo Bernardine Anne Mobolaji Evaristo (born 28 May 1959) is an English author and academic. Her novel ''Girl, Woman, Other'' jointly won the Booker Prize in 2019 alongside Margaret Atwood's ''The Testaments'', making her the first Black woman to win ...

Lubaina Himid Lubaina Himid (born 1954) is a British artist and curator. She is a professor of contemporary art at the University of Central Lancashire.Royal Festival Hall The Royal Festival Hall is a 2,700-seat concert, dance and talks venue within Southbank Centre in London, England. It is situated on the South Bank of the River Thames, not far from Hungerford Bridge, in the London Borough of Lambeth. It is a G ...

, 1991–92
To view the pieces of this exhibition click this link.

''Significant Others''

A series created by Sulter in 1993 includes nine large-scale photographs mounted in wooden frames, with annotations for each image. The photographs in this exhibition were enlargements of her family's photo archive resembling her Scottish and Ghanaian heritage. Sulter appears in four of the images as a child and her growing up, semblance of her identity.

''Les Bijoux''

Produced in 2002 as large-format colour Polaroid prints and named after a poem of the same name by

Charles Baudelaire Charles Pierre Baudelaire (, ; ; 9 April 1821 – 31 August 1867) was a French poet, essayist, translator and art critic. His poems are described as exhibiting mastery of rhythm and rhyme, containing an exoticism inherited from the Romantics ...

inspired the piece. Sulter's ideals of this poem inspired her to portray herself in the photos with passion and emotion- opposing the "common view" on this piece as sexualized. This exhibition is a series of close-up self-portraits of Sulter as a character inspired by

(muse to Baudelaire). The purpose of this work is to raise awareness about African and European cultures throughout history.

''Poetry in Motion''

A mixed-media piece created in 1985 and meant as a social commentary on the 20th century, this work outlined the struggles and effects of racism that African women faced during this time. Several of Sulter's poems from ''As a Blackwoman'' were included in these mixed-media collages. ''Poetry in Motion'' was exhibited in 1985 at the

Institute of Contemporary Arts The Institute of Contemporary Arts (ICA) is an modernism, artistic and cultural centre on The Mall (London), The Mall in London, just off Trafalgar Square. Located within Nash House, part of Carlton House Terrace, near the Duke of York Steps a ...

in London and curated by

Lubaina Himid Lubaina Himid (born 1954) is a British artist and curator. She is a professor of contemporary art at the University of Central Lancashire.

''Twa Blak Wimmin''

''Twa Blak Wimmin'' ("Two Black Women"), created by Sulter in 1997, was made "to recognise a more historical link between Europe and Africa." The title alludes to older Scots language and the story of historical Scottish women, " Blak Margaret" and " Blak Elene".

''Jeanne Duval: A Melodrama I–IV''

Inspired by poetry written by

and her way of writing "which explore her sensuality, sensuality and ethnicity..." This work was created in 1994, after multiple other works inspired by Duval, such as ''Zabat'' and ''Les Bijoux''. Sulter had a "visual fascination with Jeanne Duval" since 1988, which "willed" her to create a piece more specific to Duval. This series of four photocollages features a portrait photographer

Nadar Gaspard-Félix Tournachon (; 5 April 1820 – 20 March 1910), known by the pseudonym Nadar () or Félix Nadar'','' was a French photographer, caricaturist, journalist, novelist, balloon (aircraft), balloonist, and proponent of History of avi ...

, who was close with Duval. Sulter also published a book in relation to this piece, titled ''Jeanne Duval: A Melodrama'', which can be accessed b
clicking here
This was exhibited at

National Galleries of Scotland The National Galleries of Scotland (, sometimes also known as National Galleries Scotland) is the executive non-departmental public body that controls the three national galleries of Scotland and two partner galleries, forming one of the Nation ...

, Edinburgh, in 2003.

Blackwomen's Creativity Project

Sulter worked with

Sheba Feminist Publishers Sheba Feminist Press was a UK publishing co-operative formded in 1980 by a group of seven women involved in the women's liberation movement. Sheba was among a few small independent publishers to emerge out of the UK women's movement during the 1970 ...

' collective, starting in 1982. As the collective's only Black woman writer at the time, Sulter recognized an increasing need for writing tailored to Black women. She co-founded the Blackwomen's Creativity Project in the early 1980s with Ingrid Pollard. The magazine created a variety of content ranging from "hair braiding, poetry and performance". She created her own publishing imprint, Urban Fox Press, releasing a new edition of her first collection of poetry, ''As a Blackwoman'', along with her second poetry collection, ''Zabat: Poetics of a Family Tree'', both in 1989.

Death and legacy

Sulter died in 2008, aged 47, after a long illness. She was survived by her mother, Elsie, as well as her two daughters and son, Ama, Efia and Alexander. Her work created coalitions between Black feminist and lesbian groups. Through collaborations with Black women artists, writers and photographers across the world, Sulter successfully brought awareness to the histories and continued presence of Black women figures. Sulter's work is held in a number of collections, including Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery, the

Arts Council Collection The Arts Council Collection is a national loan collection of modern and contemporary British art. It was founded in 1946. The collection continues to acquire works each year. The Arts Council Collection reaches its audience through loans to publ ...

, the

British Council The British Council is a British organisation specialising in international cultural and educational opportunities. It works in over 100 countries: promoting a wider knowledge of the United Kingdom and the English language (and the Welsh lang ...

, McManus Dundee, Glasgow Museums,

Tate Tate is an institution that houses, in a network of four art galleries, the United Kingdom's national collection of British art, and international modern and contemporary art. It is not a government institution, but its main sponsor is the UK ...

, City Art Centre, Edinburgh, Women's Art Collection, Cambridge,

, Boswell Collection, St Andrews University,

Harris Museum and Art Gallery The Harris Museum is a Grade I-listed building in Preston, Lancashire, England. Founded by Edmund Harris in 1877, it is a local history and fine art museum. History In the 19th century, it became legal to raise money for libraries by local ...

, Leeds University Art Gallery,

Inverness Museum and Art Gallery Inverness Museum and Art Gallery is a museum and gallery on Castle Wynd in Inverness in the Highlands of Scotland. There is no entry charge. The collection and facilities are managed by High Life Highland on behalf of Highland Council. Foreru ...

, the Scottish Parliament Collection, and the

Government Art Collection The Government Art Collection (GAC) is the collection of artworks owned by the UK government and administered by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS). The GAC's artworks are used to decorate major government buildings in the UK and ...

. In 2011–2012, her work was shown at

Tate Britain Tate Britain, known from 1897 to 1932 as the National Gallery of British Art and from 1932 to 2000 as the Tate Gallery, is an art museum on Millbank in the City of Westminster in London, England. It is part of the Tate network of galleries in En ...

, London, in the exhibition ''Thin Black Line(s)'', which was a re-staging of the seminal 1986 exhibition ''The Thin Black Line'' that was held at London's Institute of Contemporary Arts ."Thin Black Line(s)"
Making Histories Visible. In 2015, Street Level Photoworks Glasgow staged a major exhibition, entitled ''Maud Sulter: Passion'', to showcase her work and achievement, especially in photography and photomontage.Her portraits of 10 pre-eminent Scottish poets were displayed at Hillhead Library, Glasgow. ''Maud Sulter: Passion'' travelled to the

Impressions Gallery Impressions Gallery is an independent contemporary photography gallery in Bradford, England. It was established in 1972 and located in York until moving to Bradford in 2007. Impressions Gallery also runs a photography bookshop, publishes its own ...

, Bradford, in 2016. During 2016, Sulter's series of ''Syrcas'' photomontages was exhibited at Autograph ABP, and at Arles Photography Festival in the Chapelle de la Charité d'Arles, both curated by Autograph ABP director Mark Sealy. In 2017, two muses from ''Zabat'' (

Calliope In Greek mythology, Calliope ( ; ) is the Muse who presides over eloquence and epic poetry; so called from the ecstatic harmony of her voice. Hesiod and Ovid called her the "Chief of all Muses". Mythology Calliope had two famous sons, OrpheusH ...

: the muse of epic poetry, and

Terpsichore In Greek mythology, Terpsichore (; , "delight in dancing") is one of the nine Muses and goddess of dance and chorus. She lends her name to the word " terpsichorean", which means "of or relating to dance". Appearance Terpsichore is usually d ...

: the muse of dance) were shown at the

Walker Gallery The Walker Art Gallery is an art gallery in Liverpool, which houses one of the largest art collections in England outside London. It is part of the National Museums Liverpool group. History The Walker Art Gallery's collection dates from 1819 w ...

as part of the largest

LGBTQ+ LGBTQ people are individuals who are lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, or questioning. Many variants of the initialism are used; LGBTQIA+ people incorporates intersex, asexual, aromantic, agender, and other individuals. The group i ...

art exhibition in the UK, ''Coming Out: Sexuality, Gender, and Identity''. Recent exhibitions include: ''Sarah Maldoror: Tricontinental Cinema'', Paris, 2021 and ''Sulter: Centre of the Frame'', Cambridge and Rochdale, 2021–22.

Exhibitions

Solo exhibitions

Group exhibitions

Publications

Books by Sulter

* * * * * *

Books about Sulter

* * * In the section by Deborah Cherry, "The Ghost Begins by Coming Back: Revenants and Returns in Maud Sulter's Photomontages"

Bibliography

External links

"Passion – Blackwomen's Creativity: an interview with Maud Sulter"
''Spare Rib'', Issue 220, February 1991
"Maud Sulter: ''Passion''"
Impressions Gallery.
Works from the ''Zabat'' series
at the V&A
Maud Sulter
on ScottishPoetryLibrary.org
List of 1996 Johannesburg Biennial artists

"Maud Sulter – Passion"
Street Level Photoworks, Glasgow, 25 April 2015 – 21 June 2015
"Maud Sulter – About Face"
Hillhead Library, Glasgow, 17 April 2015 – 28 June 2015
"Revisiting 'Two Invisible Case Studies': Maud Sulter & Oladélé Ajiboyé Bamgboyé"
Malmö Konsthall, 29 July – 7 August 2013 {{DEFAULTSORT:Sulter, Maud 1960 births 2008 deaths 20th-century Scottish dramatists and playwrights 20th-century Scottish women artists 20th-century Scottish women writers 20th-century Scottish poets Alumni of the University of Derby Artists from Glasgow Black British photographers Black British women writers Black British writers Scottish contemporary artists Scottish people of Ghanaian descent Scottish photographers Scottish women poets