Martine Syms lives and works in Los Angeles, USA. Syms is most notably recognised for her practice that combines conceptual grit, humour and social commentary.

Using a combination of video, installation and performance, often interwoven with explorations into technique and narrative, Syms examines representations of blackness and its relationship to vernacular, feminist thought, and radical traditions. Syms’s research-based practice frequently references and incorporates theoretical models concerning performed or imposed identities, the power of the gesture, and embedded assumptions concerning gender and racial inequalities. Recent exhibitions include Sadie Coles HQ, UK (2020); Secession, Austria (2019); ICA VCU, USA (2019); MoMA, USA (2017); and ICA London, UK (2016).