Candice Breitz—a Jewish white woman currently based in Berlin—was selected to represent South Africa at the 2017 Venice Biennale, a prestigious international contemporary art show. She understood, however, that she was perhaps not best suited to speak on behalf of a majority-black country with a painful legacy of apartheid. In order to participate in the exhibition, Breitz was required to create a self-portrait, but instead of handling this subject in a straightforward way, she used the opportunity to refocus attention on a greater community of South African artists. In Profile, ten different artists introduce themselves as Breitz, blending details of her identity, with respect to race, gender, sexuality, religion, and class, with their own. The composite “self-portrait” calls attention to the problematic notion that any one person can ever truly represent a nation.

Featuring Igshaan Adams, Roger Ballen, Steven Cohen, Gabrielle Goliath, Dean Hutton, Banele Khoza, Gerald Machona, Buhlebezwe Siwani, Chuma Sopotela, and Sue Williamson.