The Taxonomy of Shadows
The Taxonomy of Shadows celebrates the political, strategic, and aesthetic importance of photographic workshops and collective action that has emerged across the African continent since the 1980s, with a focus on collaborative practices behind lens-based work.
Grounded in new research by curator Serubiri Moses, the exhibition considers the political and strategic importance of African photographic collectivism, inspired by the Afrapix Collective, founded by photographers in 1982 to bring visibility to struggles for political liberation in South Africa. Since the 1980s, many formal and informal initiatives have emerged across Africa, born out of a continued need to influence local, regional, and international photographic and artistic landscapes. The exhibition traces interwoven themes of fashion, infrastructure, landscape, and collectives, revealing how photographic practices engage with social structures, and shared forms of making. In some places the collective activism provides shared studio space or equipment, or fills gaps in the education system, acting as pedagogical platforms alongside their political and social aims. The exhibition assembles powerful photographs and other lens based works that emerge through collectivism. Substantive interpretive materials will help visitors connect with these histories from Afrapix (1982–1988) to Nesr Foundation (founded 2021).
Through The Taxonomy of Shadows, curator Serubiri Moses develops strong links between historical events and the artistic practice of collectivism and argues for their current importance in artistic production. These projects grew out of specific conditions of the artist’s local contexts—yet offer widely relevant models for collective activism and resourceful collaboration.
