A Dazzling New Show Reveals How African Artists Are Reinventing Fashion Photography—See Their Work Here

A striking exhibition of 18 artists from the African continent
looks at how appearances sometimes point to deeper truths.

“Now Look Here: The
African Art of Appearance,” on view at a pop-up space in
Amsterdam through February 23, showcases works by Tabi
Benny, Blinky Bill, and Omar Victor Diop alongside 15
other artists in a presentation organized by Renny Ramakers,
who curated the N’Gola Biennial last summer in the island nation of
São Tomé and Príncipe.

Ramakers came up with the idea while preparing the biennial,
noticing the extreme degree to which seemingly exuberant,
over-the-top fashion and style had become a signifier of dignity
and identity. The resulting show presents a “paradox of apparent
superficiality that actually functions as a serious counter-force,”
according to a press release for the exhibition.

The show presents artists whose work “at first glance, stands
out for its attention to outward appearance: everything is
colorful, radiant, smooth, and aesthetic,” the statement says. “On
closer inspection, the seductive surface proves to be a lure that
draws visitors into a deeper story, in which perspectives are
reversed: white becomes black, stigma becomes beauty, a skivvy
turns out to be a high priestess, and apparent footnotes to history
are revealed as prominent figures.”

While many of the images in the show are beautiful and
exuberant, there is an undercurrent of the systemic abuses enacted
on African people, both historically and at present, at home and
abroad.

See more images from the show below.

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Reinventing Fashion Photography—See Their Work Here appeared
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