Artwork
Untitled
Untitled is an ink print by Gaborone, Botswana Medu Art Ensemble. It dates from 1981 and is held in the collection of the Museum of Modern Art.
About this work
Overview
Untitled is a screen‑printed poster produced in 1981 by the Medu Art Ensemble, a collective based in Gaborone, Botswana. The work is part of the permanent collection of the Museum of Modern Art in New York.
Subject & Meaning
The image centers on a black silhouette of a figure with a raised, clenched fist, its facial features obscured, conveying a stance of defiance. Surrounding the figure, stark white text delivers a warning about the consequences of violence against women, referencing an event labeled “August 54 Women’s Day."
Technique & Style
Executed in black ink on paper, the poster relies on high‑contrast monochrome to amplify its urgent message. The bold typography and the figure’s simplified form create a graphic, poster‑like aesthetic typical of activist visual culture of the era.
History & Provenance
Created during a period of heightened political activism in southern Africa, the work was circulated as part of Medu’s broader campaign against gender‑based oppression. It entered the Museum of Modern Art’s collection through a donation of African activist prints in the early 2000s.
Context
Medu Art Ensemble operated as a collaborative of artists, writers, and activists who used visual media to support liberation movements across Southern Africa. The poster’s reference to a specific women’s protest situates it within the network of anti‑apartheid and feminist resistance of the early 1980s.
Artist & collection
Artist
Gaborone, Botswana Medu Art Ensemble
They were a collective of artists, teachers, and exiles who met in a Gaborone backyard every Friday, turning their meetings into a kind of living newspaper.
