UNFIXED: Photography and Postcolonial Perspectives in Contemporary Art
Edited by Sara Blokland and Asmara Pelupessy
UNFIXED examines photography in postcolonial perspective through the diverse critical positions of an international group of writers, artists and scholars working within contemporary art, photography and cultural analysis. Exploring how photography can be ‘unfixed’ through conceptual, theoretical and visual approaches, the book presents new perspectives on photography in dialogue with the cultural conditions of postcolonialism.
More than a reflection on the past, UNFIXED navigates the shifting centers and hierarchies of power postcolonialism implies and demands – creating space for new perspectives on past, present and future. In terms of photography, which has been used to stop time, document and ‘capture’ its subjects – these shifts necessitate attention to the movement, circulation and migration of the people in front of and behind the camera, the meanings associated with the images, and of the images themselves (as objects or virtually). With this in mind, UNFIXED presents and discusses strategies of artistic research, photo theory and contemporary practices around making, using, studying and writing about photographs.
The UNFIXED publication is the finishing work of a multiplatform project that included an artist residency, exhibition, workshop and symposium. At its core, the book features a curated selection of visual and textual essays produced especially for the publication. Together with documentation of the different stages of the project, the essays explore topics such as the circulation of photography, vernacular photography, archives, memory, diaspora, self-representation, appropriation, visual sovereignty, exoticism and cultural protocol.
With essays, portfolios, interviews, discussions, presentations and performances from:Charif Benhelima (BE); Lizza May David (DE); Quinsy Gario (CU/SM); Kaddu Wasswa John (UG); Arthur Conrad Kisitu (UG); Terry Kurgan (ZA); Yamini Nayar (US); Otobong Nkanga (NG/FR); Sandim Mendes (NL); Kobena Mercer (UK); Pamela Pattynama (NL); Keith Piper (UK); Habda Rashid (UK); Vandy Rattana (KH); Natalie Robertson (NZ); Naro Snackey (NL); Andrea Stultiens (NL); Hank Willis Thomas (US); Hulleah Tsinhnahjinnie (Diné Nation/US); Murtaza Vali (IN)
Co-published by Jap Sam Books and UNFIXED Projects
Graphic design: Yvonne van Versendaal
English, paperback, 240 pages, 21.5 x 29.7 cm
ISBN 978-94-90322-29-8
For more information, distribution, press and orders please contact:
Jap Sam Books www.japsambooks.nl