Africa State of Mind presents the work of a new generation of photographers from across the African continent. Curated by the eminent writer and broadcaster Ekow Eshun, this major exhibition features 13 artists who collectively interrogate ideas of ‘Africanness’.
The exhibition is curated around three main themes. Hybrid Citiesdocuments the modern African city in all its dynamism and contradictions. Zones of Freedom addresses the fluidity of gender and sexual identity through compelling portraiture, as well as the legacy of history, from slavery and colonialism to apartheid. Inner Landscapesdraws on the artists’ memories and fascinations to conjure individual interpretations of the African past and present.
Curator Ekow Eshun says, “popular Western views of the continent remain distorted. Ethnographic imagery of the colonial period presented Africans as the primitive people of a dark place. Today, contemporary news reports still portray the continent as a place of chaos, corruption and disease. By contrast, Africa State of Mind features photographers that seek to address the complexity of what it means, and how it feels, to live in Africa today”.
Impressions Gallery
Centenary Square, Bradford
BD1 1SD, United Kingdom
29 March - 15 June 2019
https://www.impressions-gallery.com/event/africa-state-of-mind/