The Walther Collection

Conceptual Framework

This exhibition centers on contemporary African and African American artists who engage critically with the archive by parodying, replaying, exposing, and dialoguing with its pictorial tropes and traditions. A stereotype or ethnographic vision in one era may provide material for an irreverent reworking, satirical performance, or elegiac reenactment in another. Addressing how the archive—broadly understood as an accumulation of representations, images, and objects—figures in contemporary photography and video, the exhibition features recent work by artists including Pieter Hugo, Sabelo Mlangeni, and Zanele Muholi.

For further information, please see our exhibition guide.