The exhibition juxtaposes photography taken in the studio
tradition in (mostly) sub-Saharan Africa in the late 19th-century by
European photographers with those images taken in this tradition
(mostly) in Africa from the 1950s through to the present day. The
selection of images contrasts an ethnographic and pre-conceived
perception of African people, entrenched by colonialism, and a very
different vibrant and individuated view generated by African
photographers who have repositioned the practice of studio
photography.
Various portrait formats are examined: individual portraits, self
portraits, studio portraits using misé en
scené, group
portraits in the field and studio and portraits using traditional
mother and child and reclining figure formats. The photographic
studios in sub-Saharan Africa were instrumental in reclaiming the
photographic image and reflecting an African identity constructed by
Africans for Africans. The studio became a stage or magical space on
which to project and enact episodes of fantasy and personal story
telling. The sitters are no longer subjects but become collaborators
and performers. A specific image is created through the careful
selection of garments, hair styles and props which reflect how the
sitters see themselves and how they wish to be perceived by others.
Not only do these portraits project individual dreams and desires but
they also establish these individuals as ordinary people with
everyday aspirations.
The exhibition is structured around five themes - Family Ties,
Composure, Coercion to Celebration, Exposing the Body, and
Constructing Power. The threads between the historical and the
contemporary
images within each category reveal a complex and continuous tradition
that has seldom been explored in a Pan-African context. The thematic
structure allows interesting juxtapositions outside the usual
divisions geographic or chronological lines which have characterized
studies and exhibitions in the genre.
The late 19th-century and early 20th-century photographs in this
exhibition have been collected over the years by Michael Graham-
Stewart
from collections in Britain and Europe. His long-standing interest in
early photography from the African continent extends from studio
images,
such as these, through to the ethnographic studies, missionary albums
and those taken by the European travellers in the late decades of the
19th century.
The exhibition is work in progress for a show that will be
developed for the BildMuseet in Umeå, Sweden for 2005. Aspects
of the selection will be expanded in the next few months, for
example, East and West Africa tend to be under-represented, and in
terms of historic photographs there are a
disproportionate number of southern Africa (except in the field of
Constructing Power).
In the current global environment, the quest for self
determination through the exploration of personal identity continues
in the work of many contemporary photographers with African roots who
either live in Africa or various parts of the Diaspora.
For more information, click
here to email us or telephone +27 21 421 2575.

Family Ties
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Composure
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Exposing the Body
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Constructing Power
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From Coercion to Celebration
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