New African Photography can be seen in Brooklyn, New York, May 7 – 15, 2016

Something that five years ago was unthinkable is happening in New York . Contemporary African photography is getting increasing exposure in New York , not just the classics but also the newest of the new.

Nataal, a new global media platform focused on contemporary African culture joined up with Red Hook Labs and curated an exhibition of New African Photography. Located next door to the African Art fair 1:54 which was held in Red Hook it was easy to go from one to the other.  Six photographers from Africa and its diaspora ( Atong Atem, Delphine Diaw Diallo, Kristin-Lee Moolman, Lakin Ogunbanwo, Namsa Leuba, Owise Abuzaid) some coming straight out of university  and others more established were gathered in this hangar expressing their singular views. There was no common theme but one could see in some of them a nod to the older generation of African photographers while adding their own very personal, imaginative spin.

Atong Atem‘s photographs are absolutely enchanting. She is a young South Sudanese artist who lives in Melbourne. She is clearly looking at West African photographic portraiture with the idea of pattern against pattern. However hers is a very hybrid image. When her friends are dressed in African clothing she sets them against a non- African floral background, and surrounds them with fake flowers in pots or they can be in jeans and she adds then African cloth to point to this in between place she lives in. A bit Sudanese and a bit Australian.  Her take is so personal, and I love this juxtaposition of styles.

Lakin Ogunbanwo lives in Lagos and is a fashion photographer as well as an artist. I have actually seen his work for awhile now in South Africa and written about him in prior blogs. I am reminded of J. D . Okhai Ojeikere views from the back, where the focus is not the face but more the hairdo. Here the focus is the hat and the way it is being worn, and what it means socially and culturally. It is its role as a signifier that is highlighted here. As Ogunbanwo says” For Nigerian men, a hat adds a sense of confidence, it’s like a personal crown.”

Namsa Leuba, half Guinean and half Swiss also has a fashion background and is particularly interested in how one constructs and deconstructs identity, in particular African identity and cultural paradigms .  Using props, and eliminating all sense of place she creates these colorful fantasies that question reality.

All these works are for sale at a very reasonable price so check it out before it closes!