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Africa State of Mind

Contemporary Photography Reimagines a Continent
Book Hero Magic crafted this summary to help describe this book. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! Summary
Africa State of Mind presents a continent-wide exploration of contemporary African photography, highlighting a vibrant new generation of photographers from across both the Maghreb and sub-Saharan Africa. The book challenges colonial perspectives by portraying Africa not only as a physical space but also as a rich psychological and cultural state of mind. Organized into four thematic sections โ€” Hybrid Cities, Inner Landscapes, Zones of Freedom, and Myth and Memory โ€” the work delves into urban life, personal identity, historical narratives, and new myths, capturing the diverse experiences and feelings of living in Africa today.
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Format: Paperback / softback
$7299
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Book Hero Magic created this recommendation. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! IS THIS YOUR NEXT READ?

This book is ideal for readers interested in contemporary African culture, photography enthusiasts, and those keen to explore fresh perspectives on identity and urban life across Africa.

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Book Hero Magic formatted this description to make it easier to read. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! Description

A mesmerizing, continent-spanning survey of the most dynamic scenes in contemporary African photography, and an introduction to the creative figures who are making it happen.

Africa State of Mind gathers together the work of an emergent generation of photographers from across Africa, including both the Maghreb and sub-Saharan Africa. It is both a summation of new photographic practice from the last decade and an exploration of how contemporary photographers from the continent are exploring ideas of 'Africanness' to reveal Africa to be a psychological space as much as a physical territory โ€“ a state of mind as much as a geographical place.

Dispensing with the western colonial view of Africa in purely geographic or topographic terms, Ekow Eshun presents Africa State of Mind in four thematic parts: Hybrid Cities; Inner Landscapes; Zones of Freedom; and Myth and Memory. Each theme, introduced by a text by Eshun, presents selections of work by a new wave of African photographers who are looking both outward and inward: capturing life among the sprawling cities and multitudinous conurbations of the continent, turning the legacy of the continent's history into the source of resonant new myths and dreamscapes and exploring questions of gender, sexuality and identity. Each of the photographers seeks to capture the experience of what it means, and how it feels, to live in Africa today.

Book Hero Magic summarised reviews for this book. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! HOW HAS THIS BEEN REVIEWED?

African State of Mind has been praised as 'a thrilling view of a complex, beautiful place' by The Times Luxx, and described as 'stimulating' by the Sunday Telegraph. Tatler commends it as 'a stylish survey of work by a new generation of photographers... a break from visions of Africa seen through Western eyes.' Wallpaper* highlights how it beautifully captures Africa's changing landscapes through the lens of home-grown talent.

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Book Details

INFORMATION

ISBN: 9780500296783

Publisher: Thames & Hudson Ltd

Format: Paperback / softback

Date Published: 07 July 2022

Country: United Kingdom

Imprint: Thames & Hudson Ltd

Illustration: 276 Illustrations, color

Audience: General / adult

DIMENSIONS

Width: 223.0mm

Height: 280.0mm

Weight: 1380g

Pages: 272

About the Author

Ekow Eshun is a writer, curator, journalist and broadcaster based in London, whose writing has appeared in publications including The New York Times, the Financial Times, the Guardian and Vogue. Director of the Institute of Contemporary Arts, London, from 2005 to 2010, and a frequent contributor to BBC radio and television programmes, his previous books include Black Gold of the Sun: Searching for Home in England and Africa and In the Black Fantastic, the latter also published by Thames & Hudson.

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