PRIYA RAMRAKHA | A PAN-AFRICAN PERSPECTIVE, 1950-1968
In chronicling the complex struggles and aspirations of the independence era in Africa, and in situating these as lived human experiences – not only of suffering, but also of celebration and community – Ramrakha’s archive re-centres, to some degree, the democratising vision and liberal humanitarian impulse of mid-century ‘high’ photojournalism. In this respect, his attention to everyday expressions of resistance and freedom, and the sustained anti-colonial narrative of his visual commentary, speaks to his distinctive position as a Kenyan correspondent, rooted in subversive and largely unacknowledged histories of Asian and black press collaborations in Africa. In profiling his work, this exhibition affords viewers an opportunity to revisit these narratives of colonial disentanglement, and to consider the ethical imperatives, dilemmas and implied politics of their documentation.