Africa unmasked at the Tate: The continent through its own lens

Cape Town[South Africa], July 23: A remarkable new exhibition showcasing contemporary African photography - looking at Africa's past, present and future through the lenses of artists from the continent - has opened in London.
One of the largest exhibitions of its kind ever staged, this thrilling new collection at the Tate Modern features beautifully powerful photographs, videos and installations that capture the essence of the realities of the fastest-growing continent in the world.
It eschews a view of Africa that has historically been defined by Western images.
British-Ghanaian curator Osei Bonsu has taken a thematic approach to explore the complex diversity of the vast continent through the eyes of 36 artists from Africa and its diaspora.
These include legendary artists such as Malawi's Samson Kambalu and Ghanaian James Barnor, and new talents like AïdaMuluneh from Ethiopia, whose work Star Shine is above, and Ruth Ossai, who grew up in Nigeria and Yorkshire, in northern England.
Bonsu has divided the more than 150 works on show into three "chapters": identity and tradition, counter histories and imagined futures, taking the viewer on a thrilling journey from Kinshasa's bustling streets to the deserts of Mauritania.
The show uses photography, video and installation to map out the possibilities of Africa in exquisite, complex, revealing ways.
The task of distilling the complexity and diversity of this expansive continent is no small feat. But through his deft curation, Osei has pulled off a visual feast, creating a vivid tapestry that thrusts contemporary African art firmly into the global centre.
Speaking to the BBC, he explained how his thematic approach allows examination of how the continent's "shared histories" - from its colonial experience to post-independence revolutionary movements and its urban future - had "shaped and reshaped" how people in Africa see themselves and their place in the world.
Source: Fijian Broadcasting Corporation