Through an African Lens: Sub-Saharan Photography from the Museum’s Collection February 27–November 8, 2020
Sanlé Sory, Yamaha de nuit, 1972, gelatin silver print, the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, Museum purchase funded by Joan Morgenstern in memory of Bruce Daniel. © Sanlé Sory, courtesy of Yossi Milo Gallery
Installation view of Through an African Lens: Sub-Saharan Photography from the Museum’s Collection, featuring Sanlé Sory, Yamaha de nuit, 1972, gelatin silver print, the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, Museum purchase funded by Joan Morgenstern in memory of Bruce Daniel © Sanlé Sory, courtesy of Yossi Milo Gallery / Siaka Coulibaly Paul, Clubs of Bamako, 1999, polychromed wood, Museum purchase funded by Nina and Michael Zilkha © Coulibaly Siaka Paul
Installation view of Through an African Lens: Sub-Saharan Photography from the Museum’s Collection.
Zanele Muholi, Misiwe IV, Biljmer, Amsterdam, 2017, digital file and proof print, the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, Museum purchase funded by the Director’s Accessions Endowment. © Zanele Muholi, courtesy of the artist; Yancey Richardson, New York' and Stevenson Cape Town/Johannesburg
Baudouin Mouanda, Untitled from the series Sapeurs de Bacongo, 2008, inkjet print, the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, museum purchase funded by Bryn Larsen. © 2008 Baudouin Mouanda
Pieter Hugo, Abdullahi Mohammed with Mainasara, Lagos, Nigeria, from the series The Hyena and Other Men, 2007, chromogenic print, the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, museum purchase funded by Alfred C. Glassell, III in honor of Thomas Buchholz, Marc Cuenod, Thad T. Dameris, Trevor Jefferies, W. Gergory Looser, Christopher Odell, Ned Smith, Winston Talbert, and Ben Wolinsky at "One Great Night in November, 2014." © Pieter Hugo
Malick Sidibé, Very Good Friends in the Same Outfit, 1972, gelatin silver print, the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, Museum purchase funded by Nina and Michael Zilkha. © Malick Sidibé
Iké Udé, Sartorial Anarchy #36, 2013, inkjet print, the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, gift of the artist. © Iké Udé
Ima Mfon, Untitled 03 from the series Nigerian Identity, 2015, gelatin silver print, the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, museum purchase funded by Photo Forum 2017. © 2015, Ima Mfon
Leonce Raphael Agbodjelou, Untitled, from the series Musclemen, 2012, chromogenic print, the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, gift of the Yossi Milo Gallery, New York, and Museum purchase funded by Joan Morgenstern and Jereann Chaney. © Leonce Raphael Agbodjelou, courtesy Jack Bell Gallery, London
Seydou Keïta, Untitled, 1949-1951, gelatin silver print, the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, gift of Jean Pigozzi. ©Seydou Keïta/SKPEAC
Dynamic images from the MFAH photography collection take you to sub-Saharan Africa. Travel from Benin to Zimbabwe and beyond with artists who are linked by geography and whose work reflects the borderless territory of contemporary photography.
Through an African Lens: Sub-Saharan Photography explores a variety of artistic styles and expression from the 1950s to the present. The list of premier photographers from Africa is ever-growing, with artists from midcentury being given a place in the larger history of the medium. At the same time, contemporary practitioners are making their mark in an increasingly globalized culture.
The exhibition features photography from Benin, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Côte d’Ivoire, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Mali, Nigeria, Senegal, South Africa, and Zimbabwe. Some 20 artists are represented, including Leonce Raphael Agbodjelou, Seydou Keïta, Baudouin Mouanda, Malick Sidibé, and Iké Udé.
Offering a small segment of the breadth of photography created in sub-Saharan Africa, these photographs address themes of personal identity, cultural traditions, modern aspirations, and social and political issues.
Through an African Lens connects with the FotoFest Biennial 2020: African Cosmologies and associated exhibitions and programs presented around Houston.
Through an African Lens: Sub-Saharan Photography from the Museum’s Collection | February 27–November 8, 2020
This exhibition is organized by the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston.