Recent Histories: Contemporary African Photography and Video Art from
The Walther Collection unites the perspectives of 14 contemporary
artists of African descent, who investigate social identity, questions
of belonging and an array of sociopolitical concerns--including
migration, lineage, the legacies of colonialism and Calvinism and local
custom--as well as personal experiences in Africa and the African
diaspora.
By highlighting specific creative approaches and studying the sites and
collective platforms that enable these practices, this book examines the
critical mass that has gathered across generations of African
image-makers and lens-based artists. In accentuating different
perspectives within this generation and considering the infrastructures
that often link them, Recent Histories provides a point of entry to
engage critically with current practices, and opens up considerations
about how to conceptualize the frameworks of contemporary African
photography and video art. Recent Histories features the work of Edson
Chagas, Mimi Cherono Ng'ok, Andrew Esiebo, Em'kal Eyongakpa, François-
Xavier Gbré, Simon Gush, Délio Jasse, Lebohang Kganye, Sabelo Mlangeni,
Mame-Diarra Niang, Dawit L. Petros, Zina Saro-Wiwa, Thabiso Sekgala and
Michael Tsegaye.