The archetypical subject of the (usually female) nude was a cornerstone of studio photography in Africa in the late 19th-century. Images of naked black girls and women were acceptable voyeuristic and erotic images because the subjects were exotic in European eyes. In recent years contemporary art practice has reclaimed the body and artists such as Rotimi Fani-Kayode, Emeka Okereke, Kelechi Amadi-Obi and Berni Searle lay claim to their own bodies, dreams, aspirations and desires. By taking control and ownership of the image and subverting a colonial agenda these photographers lay claim to their own bodies, dreams, aspirations and desires.

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Unidentified photographer 'Kaffir woman', probably Cape, circa 1875	Unidentified photographert Woman in North Nguni dress with ridged hair	Unidentified photographer Woman in North Nguni dress, probably Natal circa 1875	Unidentified photographer Two women wearing North Nguni dress, one clasping the other round the waist, probably Natal, circa 1875
Unidentified photographer Zulu girls at Barberton	Unidentified photographer, probably Barnett 'How do you do', Johannesburg, circa 1890	Unidentified photographer Nguni Woman, probably Johannesburg, 1890	Unidentified photographer, probably Barnett 'Polly' (Nguni Woman), Johannesburg, circa 1890
Unidentified photographer, probably Barnett 'Darling Mabel', Johannesburg, circa 1890	Unknown photographer 'Booby's (?) Fernando Po', circa 1890	Unknown photographer Two young women from Fenando Po, circa 1890	Unidentified photographer, late 19th-century A naked woman, probably Sudanese, sitting on a rock in a studio
Unknown photographer Naked woman standing on light rug or floor covering, probably Cape, circa 1870	Unidentified photographer Naked man standing on rug or patterned floor covering, probably Cape circa 1870	Unidentified photographer, Natal, circa 1880 A woman, seated, wearing North Nguni dress	Unidentified photographer, circa 1875 'A Zulu Cleopatra'
Unidentified photographer 'Femme Zouloue', Natal, circa 1875	David Goldblatt Circumcision initiate in the hut of the initiates, Pondoland, 1975	David Goldblattt Circumcision initiate in the hut of the abakwetha, Transkei, 1975	David Goldblatt Margaret Mcingana at home on a Sunday afternoon, Zola Soweto, Johannesburg, 1970 sold
Youssef Nabil Natasha fume le narguilé, Natasha Atlas, Cairo, 2000	Youssef Nabil La Rose Du Caire, Natasha Atlas, Cairo 2000	Kelechi Amadi-Obi Male nude, Lagos, Nigeria 2001	Kelechi Amadi-Obi Male nude, Lagos, Nigeria 2001
Churchill Madikida Liminal States, 2003	Churchill Madikida Liminal States, 2003	Churchill Madikida Liminal States, 2003	Rotimi Nothing to Lose XII (Bodies of Experience), London, 1989 sold
Emeka Okereke Ritual I, Lagos, Nigeria, 2001	Emeka Okereke Ritual II, Lagos, Nigeria, 2001	Berni Searle Still	Berni Searle Still