Aerosol Couture: This surreal SFX exhibition uses the body as a canvas

For 26-year-old airbrush artist Mab, art has always been political. Using the body as her canvas, the SFX artist paints the skin with vivid, surreal designs that are meant to serve as both a commentary on and a reclamation of the hypersexualisation of Black women’s bodies. From working with the Clermont twins to creating custom looks at fashion week, the young creative’s career has been taking off as of late, despite the fact that airbrushing was, as she previously told Dazed, pushed on to her originally. Her current mastery of the medium, however, was on full display in New York on Saturday (November 1), at her latest live exhibit, Aerosol Couture.

Held at 66 Greene, a concept store, music venue and editorial studio located in downtown Soho, Aerosol Couture was a continuation of Mab’s commitment to spotlighting Black beauty. As a commentary on society’s perception of women’s bodies and their rights, Mab uses the body as a canvas to explore how women, especially women of colour, “navigate the weight of societal expectations while remaining unapologetically themselves”.

Mab’s recent live exhibit, which was held in partnership with MAC Cosmetics and Chimi, showcased several female and male models, all of whom were members of the artist’s community, including friends Gia Love, Symone Lu and Jordan Simone. Meticulously painted with an assortment of rich colours and textures, one look featured a head-to-toe metallic silver paint job, while another featured shimmering glitter outlines that traced each muscle. No two looks were the same, and yet each emphasised the diversity of the human figure. “We all have different silhouettes, different body shapes, different muscles, and I really wanted to emphasise that in this show, especially on Black bodies,” says Mab. “It was very important for me to centre Black bodies in this work because there aren’t a lot of spaces for that, and this is that space.” 

Along with the painted models and several of Mab’s airbrush paintings, the exhibit also included two acts of performance art. The first was a live airbrushing, in which Mab showed a rapt audience what it looks like to paint someone in real-time. The second came when one of the painted models gave a pole dancing performance, highlighting the night’s theme of combining movement, artistry and creative expression. “Pole is an art in itself,” says Mab. “I love going to strip clubs, watching the girls, seeing them do their tricks and how their bodies contort around the pole.” The inherent physicality of pole-dancing was a natural inspiration for the artist and for the exhibit. “When the spotlight shines on these girls on stage, you see all these highlights, you see muscles moving, you see the body working in real time – I think that’s really beautiful,” she adds.  

As for the partnership with 66 Greene, Mab said the venue was a place that “automatically came to mind”. Founded by British music producer Alex Grant, otherwise known as By.Alexander, the space’s existence as one of the few Black-owned buildings on Greene Street aligned with Mab’s desire to continue to centre community in her work, and made for a well-suited collaboration. “Mab’s obsession with every single detail within her practice really felt aligned with the type of mindset I want around me,” says Grant, adding that the space is an environment where life-minded creatives can feel safe to “make mistakes and experiment”.

When it came to reaching out, Mab, who DM’ed both Grant and 66 Greene directly, wasn’t shy about her approach. It’s a philosophy of abundance that’s now guiding her career. “I feel like I’m at this era in my life where I don’t really wait,” she says. “I used to be like, ‘Oh, things will come to me’. But now, if I see the vision and it’s really stuck in my mind, I’m gonna go get it.”