DISCOVERY / Collage & Editions
Tschabalala Self’s The Refusal, a figure built in layers.
Two Palms’ 2023 edition brings cut, printed and stitched materials into a single figure.
Image: Tschabalala Self / Two PalmsPublished 4 November 2026 · WHV
Look closely at the point where one surface meets another in The Refusal. The edge is part of the image. Two Palms describes an edition made with cast and handmade papers, printing, resin and thread. This is a figure assembled from parts that keep their own texture.
Self’s work asks how the Black female body is seen and represented. The material decisions make that question concrete. A viewer can recognise a figure while still seeing how many distinct pieces are involved in making it legible.
MoMA records the work as an edition of fifteen and identifies Two Palms as publisher and printer. Compare the publisher’s full view with the detail views. For an individual example, check the edition notation, framing and the condition of raised or stitched areas.
Evidence & sources.
- Two Palms, Tschabalala Self and The Refusal (opens source in a new tab)
- Museum of Modern Art, The Refusal collection record (opens source in a new tab)
Scope of this reading
The image comes from the edition publisher. MoMA lists its own example as off view, and condition and availability must be checked individually.
Sources checked 4 November 2026.
FOLLOW YOUR CURIOSITY
Where this leads.
Image: Pacita Abad Art EstateContinue the idea
Pacita Abad’s Sweet things are made of these, a print with an edge.
Compare another print whose paper and added materials determine the shape of the work.
Read the story
Across the WHV world
Hanne Friis’s Bow, how fabric takes up space.
Follow stitching into a sculpture where it gives fabric its volume.
Read the story