Published to accompany a major exhibition at Zeitz MOCAA, CapeTown,
When We See Us presents a comprehensive exploration of Black
representation through portraiture and figuration, celebrating Black
subjectivity and Black consciousness from Pan-African and Pan-Diasporic
perspectives.
In the past decade, figurative painting by Black artists has risento a
new prominence in the field of contemporary art. This timely and
revelatory book highlights the many ways in which artists critically
engage with notions of blackness, contributing to the critical discourse
on topics such as Pan-Africanism, the Civil Rights Movement, African
Liberation and Independence movements, the Anti-Apartheid and Black
Consciousness mobilizations, Decoloniality, and Black Lives Matter.
With a primary focus on figurative painting, When We See Us explores
how Black artists have imagined, positioned, memorialized, and asserted
African and African diasporic experiences from the early 20th century to
the present day. Featuring more than 200 works of art--and contributions
from well-known writers such as Ken Bugul, Maaza Mengiste, Robin Coste
Lewis, and Bill Kouelany--When We See Us is a major contribution to
our understanding of Black art that will appeal to anyone interested in
modern and contemporary figurative art and Black cultural history.
