On the occasion of the 11th edition of Rencontres de Bamako, Biennale Africaine de la Photographie, The Walther Collection presents Deconstructed Spaces, Surveyed Memories, a selection from The Walther Collection’s exhibition Recent Histories: Contemporary African Photography & Video Art, which was presented in Neu-Ulm, Germany fro m May through November 2017.

Deconstructed Spaces, Surveyed Memories assembles works by eight photographers born after the liberation movements that swept Africa in the 1960s. They investigate structural notions of identity and memory to consider the impact of broad sociocultural, economic, and political currents. These artists examine urban architectures, sites of labor, and products of mass consumption, by employing principles of abstraction, analyzing particular landscapes and built environments, or probing a more spiritual invocation of the photographic inquiry. Analyzing environments that oscillate between the public and personal, their works provide different commentaries on the transformations of life, brought about within the framework of an increasingly interconnected world.

The exhibition reveals the dialogues taking place amongst this current generation of image-makers, by providing multiple points of entry to engage critically with African photography and video art. Amplifying the intensity of this current moment of creative production, Deconstructed Spaces, Surveyed Memories acknowledges the complexities and differing conceptions that can resound through each urban space, personal memory, or social community.

Artists featured in the exhibition: Edson Chagas, Em’kal Eyongakpa, François-Xavier Gbré, Simon Gush, Sabelo Mlangeni, Mame-Diarra Niang, Dawit L. Petros, and Michael Tsegaye.

This exhibition is organized by Daniela Baumann and Oluremi C. Onabanjo, with curatorial support from Juliane Peil.

Opening Reception: Saturday, December 2, 2017
Professional Days: December 2 – 5, 2017

At Musée du District Bamako
Place de la Liberté
BP 256 Bamako, Mali

www.rencontres-bamako.com

The Walther Collection is dedicated to researching, collecting, exhibiting, and publishing photography and video art. Since opening to the public in 2010, the collection has grown to become one of the most important holdings of modern and contemporary African and Asian photography and video art, American vernacular imagery, and nineteenth century photographs and books from Europe and Africa. The collection presents exhibitions and public programs at a three-gallery museum campus in Neu-Ulm, Germany, and a Project Space in New York City, USA. Organized by leading international curators, the exhibitions from the collection endeavor to create dynamic juxtapositions by artists whose contributions to photography significantly expand the history of the medium. The collection’s established publishing series with Steidl, complementing the exhibitions program with extensive catalogues and monographs, is informed by comprehensive research by acclaimed writers, critics, and art historians. Recognized as a leading institution in the study and presentation of African photography, The Walther Collection presents new exhibitions annually in Germany and New York, as well as traveling exhibitions around the world.