Kara Walker: Hyundai Commission

A new book on American artist Kara Walker and her Fall 2019 installation at Tate Modern’s Turbine Hall

The works of New York–based artist Kara Walker (b. 1969) have been featured prominently in exhibitions around the world since the mid-1990s. Walker is renowned for her candid explorations of race, gender, sexuality and violence, from drawings, prints, murals, shadow puppets, cut-paper silhouettes, and projections to large-scale sculptural installations, often referencing the history of slavery and the antebellum American South. Now, Walker is creating the latest Hyundai Commission in Tate Modern’s Turbine Hall. Documenting the work’s creation, this book includes images of the work in process as well as the final installation. Walker introduces a personal selection of archival images and artworks that have influenced her during the genesis of this work. Essays by curator Clara Kim and a specially commissioned piece by the celebrated writer Zadie Smith offer fresh and intriguing insights into Walker’s life and career.