In my three blogs ‘A World in Common, Contemporary African Photography, An Introduction, Identity and Tradition, Counterhistories’, I describe the hows and whys of this exhibition I saw at the Wereldmuseum in Rotterdam. The exhibition is divided into several themes and the last theme ‘Imagined Futures’ I describe below.
The 2 sub-themes are
- Urban transitions
- A world in common
Imagined futures
The final part of the exhibition focuses on the changes in Africa since independence in the 1950s and 1960s. Architecture became one of the forms through which newly formed countries expressed their national identity, but the vast geographical and social changes in Africa are inextricably linked to the global realities of climate emergency and mass migration.
Urban transitions
Here, artists show how urbanization and economic growth are transforming life in Africa. Despite economic growth, Africa remains caught between the promise of a bright future and uncertainties such as the challenges of extreme weather events and mass migration. The artists raise questions about the consequences of human self-destruction.
He documents the evolution of the city and its inhabitants by capturing details of an in-depth investigation of urban territory. Some images depict historical sites in states of decay and ruin while other images draw attention to historical details, such as frescoes depicting the colonial history.
He describes the work as ‘containing clues, stories, and traces of some forgotten lives, abandoned, now in the dark.’ His work is also described in the books African Artists from 1882 to now and African Art now.
Over time, he has expanded into multimedia and video reportage, tackling a whole range of complex subjects: sexuality, gender politics, football culture and popular culture, migration, religion, and spirituality.
The exhibition shows his series ‘Mutations’. He examines the ever-changing architecture and urban landscape of Lagos, Nigeria. The series features post-independence landmarks as well as spaces of the informal economy.
Rusty Mirage (The City Skyline) 2013 was presented at the exhibition and is a series of photographs of an installation that he built in the desert. In this work Kiluanji Kia Henda used a traditional Angolan technique of visual storytelling to tell a universal story. The buildings’ outlines are inspired by sand drawings (called sona) made by the Lunda Tchokwe people from eastern Angola. Drawing attention to the hundreds of square miles of half-constructed, abandoned and derelict areas of cities across the globe, he contrasts these failed building projects with the problem of widespread poverty and homelessness.
His work is described in the books African Artists from 1882 to now and African Art now and was also shown at the exhibition ‘In brilliant light’ in Leiden.
At the exhibition was shown his series ‘Un regard’ created between 2008 and 2013. He turned his attention to the surfaces of puddles left in the rain to express his relationship with his urban environment, his city, Kinshasa. For him, the reflections were like windows into another, more beautiful reality. To him it is was a doorway into a dream. His work is described in the book African Artists from 1882 to now and was also shown at the exhibition ‘Africa Supernova’ ‘Africa Supernova’ in museum De Kade in Amersfoort.
A world in common
In this section, artists take visitors on a journey through forests, across oceans and along migratory routes. They highlight the power of nature as a source of growth and renewal, and show new ways of living on Earth. All the artists in this section use photography as a tool to explore a common humanity.
When Fabrice Monteiro returned to Africa after several years of absence he discovered the devastating pollution that had overtaken the continent. The series was based on nine different environmental problems in Senegal, including forest fires, plastic waste and oil spills, and was gradually expanded to address worldwide pollution. This theme is personified in the photos of various figures who were inspired by West African masquerades and animism. His work is described in the book African Artists from 1882 to now.
At the exhibition his series ‘The profit corner’ was shown which highlights the global consumption of electronic goods and their impact on local communities. His photographs raise social awareness, focusing on the dignity and resilience of the young men as well as the underlying realities of poverty, neglect and invisibility they face. His work is described in the book African Artists from 1882 to now.
Aida Muluneh is born in Addis Ababa in 1974. She graduated from Howard University in Washington, D.C., with a degree in Communications, majoring in Film. Her photographs address issues of social justice, gender and identity that shape cultural perceptions.
At the exhibition her series ‘Water Life’ (commissioned by WaterAid and supported by H&M Foundation) was shown. She visualizes the heavy burden of transporting water, the series addresses the impact of water access as it relates to women’s rights, wellbeing and education.
Aida Muluneh incorporates traditional African body painting and address as a celebration of the beauty, heritage and culture of the continent. One of her statements is: ‘The world is continually bombarded with the social plight of Africa; therefore my focus in this project was to address these topics without the cliché that we see in mainstream media. In a sense, to advocate through art.’ Her work is described in the book African Artists from 1882 to now.
In his series ‘Primordial Earth Series’ he explores the diversity of landscapes and natural scenes. He captures the landscape as a vibrant ecosystem with its own eternal forces and sources of power. A symbolic narrative of creation and apocalypse, in which various African traditions and philosophies and mythologies are rooted.
‘The Afronauts’ is her first successful attempt to create her own ideal world. It is about a small topic in Zambia’s history: a schoolteacher’s space programme that suddenly put Zambia in the space race with the United States and Russia. The hoped-for result: the first African on the moon. Due to a lack of funding, the initiative never got off the ground. Fifty years later, Cristina de Middel reconstructs this story using her own imagination. Although ‘The Afronauts’ is based on a failure, there is nothing about the project that points to failure, on the contrary. Her work was also shown at the exhibition ‘Africa Supernova’in museum De Kade in Amersfoort.
He is largely informed by studies of global modernisms, theories of diaspora, and postcolonial theory. Throughout the past decade, he has focused on a critical re-reading of the entanglements between colonialism and modernity.
His works aim for an introspective analysis of the historical factors that produced these migratory conditions, as well as articulating the fluidity of contemporary transnational experiences and attendant issues of displacement, place-making, and cultural negotiation. His work is described in the books African Artists from 1882 to now and African Art now and was also shown at the exhibition ‘Africa Supernova’ in museum De Kade in Amersfoort.
If you would like to buy any of the books I have mentioned, you will find the information you need below:
Publisher Phoudon Press Ltd. – ISBN 978-1-83866-243-1
Fifty Pioneers Defining African Art for the Twenty-first Century
Publisher Alison Starling – ISBN 978-1-78157-838-4
Collection Carla & Pieter Schulting
Publisher KunsthalKADE – ISBN 978—94-90153-38-0
A Century of Black figuration in painting
Publisher Zeitz Museum of Contemporary Art Africa, Cape Town – ISBN 978-0-500-02588-8
Zinsou, an African collection
Publisher MO.CO. Montpellier contemporain – ISBN978-8-836-64887-0
Contemporary African photography
Publisher Tate Publishing – ISBN 978-1-84976-852-8
This was my last blog on ‘A World in Common’. My aim is to recognize a work of art and also to remember the artist who created it. I hope you have found my quest as fascinating and fun as I have. It has certainly enriched me.
Johanna, 24th April 2025
