Snap Judgements 2006

Snap Judgments: New Positions in Contemporary African Photography

            Organized by Okuwi Enwezor, “Snap Judgments: New Positions in Contemporary African Photography” was exhibited at the International Center of Photography in New York City from March 10^th – May 28^th, 2006. Born and raised in Calabar, Nigeria in 1963, he received his college degree in the United States and now currently splits time between New York and San Francisco. In 1997, Enwezor curated the second Johannesburg Biennale. He now serves as adjunct curator at the International Center of Photography.

            The exhibition sought to capture the rapid and enormous social and cultural shifts occurring all across the African continent. The purpose of the exhibition was to provide an alternative to “Afro-pessimism” which existed and continues to exist in global media reporting. Instead of reducing Africa to a set of images such as famine, disease, and warfare, the artists set out to examine the intricacies of daily life in Africa without sensationalism or romanticism. Broad themes include local responses to the international media and the touristic gaze, framing the African body, identity and postcolonial memory, urban sites, and machines and institutions of modernity.

            One review praised the exhibition when it was displayed at the Memphis Brooks Museum of Art from March 1^st – May 25^th, 2008. The review stated that the exhibition was, “invigorating and frustrating, critically incisive and ethically complex, an experience that continues to oscillate between the profoundly satisfying and the profoundly unsettling.” It praised the exhibition’s artist and work choices and liked how it showcased many powerful, provocative works which viewers could easily relate to.

            The exhibition also allows photography to flex its full creative potential. It highlights the shift away from commercial studio portraiture and emphasizes conceptual, documentary, and fashion art. Many of the artists use photography as a tool to trace the arc of different realities coexisting in Africa. This emphasis further drove contemporary African art away from traditional mediums. Enwezor tried unifying Africa visually and illuminate its push towards modernity.

            Artists included Oladélé Adjiboyé Bamgboyé, Tracey Rose, Mohamed Camara, Doa Aly, Andrew Dosunmu, Nontsikelelo “Lolo” Veleko, Yto Barrada, Luis Basto, Omar D. (Daoud), Maha Maamoun, Lara Baladi, Lamina Naji, Theo Eshetu, Kay Hassan, Fatou Kandé Senghor, Zarina Bhimji, Otobong Nkanga, Hentje van der Merwe, Allan deSouza, Zwelethu Mthethwa, Ali Charaibi, Mikhael Subotzky Sada Tangara, Mamadou Gomis, Romuald Hazoumé, Zohra Bensemra, Moshekwa Langa, Michael Tsegaye, Jo Ratcliffe, Randa Shaath, James Muriuki, Boubacar Touré Mandémory, Guy Tillim, and Hala Elkoussy.

-Jeffrey Lee