You’ll find multiple versions of Pamela Phatsimo Sunstrum in her solo exhibition at Galerie Lelong. The Botswanan multidisciplinary artist places alter egos in make-believe scenarios. This show, in particular, manifests visions of war where intimacy is the focal point and savagery is the backdrop. Parabellum — the title of the exhibition, drawn from the Latin phrase meaning “If you want peace, prepare for war” — suggests the tension and relationship between the two states. It left me asking, how can an artist responsibly depict the reprieve of closeness in times of strife?
Each work takes the form of a wood panel that Sunstrum paints on directly, and often contains directly oppositional thoughts and emotions. Symbols of masculinity proliferate — pipes, oversized shoes, and axes notched on belts — but men themselves are absent, manifesting a new version of reality where women are the primary perpetrators of harm and yet continue to care for each other. In “It is because I want you to go on” (2025), one woman prepares to clean the other’s feet, one version of herself clearly below the other physically and hierarchically. A sultry gaze from one to the other suggests a potential longing bordering on sexual desire, but induces a sense of discomfort in a viewer who can’t discern whether the attraction is innocent, a means of exerting power, or a survival strategy. It feels as though you’re peering in on a moment of exploitation usually reserved for men toward women; the fact that the dynamic is staged between equal parties rather than those with built-in power dynamics makes the relationship between them both easier to read and murkier to understand.
Installation view of Pamela Phatsimo Sunstrum, “How do we know if we are loved” (2025), oil on cradled wood panel
The work that struck me most was the soft vision of femininity in “How do we know if we are loved” (2025), in which undressed women hold up a candle to the woman in the center. According to the gallery, Sunstrum takes inspiration from Danish writer Isak Dinesen (pseudonym of Karen Blixen), whose 1934 gothic short story, “The Deluge at Norderney,” tells of a woman preparing to cut off her breasts who is reminded of her femininity by nymphs. But whereas Blixen could ironically only tell the story of a woman insisting on her womanhood via a man’s name, Sunstrum does so with her own across all these works.
But why are these visions important now? Sunstrum’s work was last shown at Galerie Lelong in 2022, so perhaps the gallery is just cycling through its roster. But it feels like a particularly interesting time to be highlighting moments of intimacy amid backdrops of strife, given that we live in a time particularly rife with famine, war, and genocide. The exhibition format offers clues to Sunstrum’s intentions. One room contains large-scale sketches; the other displays those sketches realized as complete works. Between the plan and the final version, however, depictions of violence are eliminated except for in the two smallest paintings. Whereas media depictions of war often focus on large-scale destruction, these renderings remind us of the humans at the heart of it all. Sunstrum might say that the role of art is to uncover and emphasize such small moments of beauty, to model care as a means of survival.
Pamela Phatsimo Sunstrum, “Now you are everything” (2025), oil on cradled wood panel
Pamela Phatsimo Sunstrum, “See there” (2025), graphite on paper
Pamela Phatsimo Sunstrum, “Give me victory” (2025), pencil and oil on cradled wood panel
Pamela Phatsimo Sunstrum, “Charge I” (2025), graphite on paper
Pamela Phatsimo Sunstrum: Parabellum continues at Galerie Lelong (528 West 26th Street, Chelsea, Manhattan) through December 20. The exhibition was organized by the gallery.
