African Cosmologies

African Cosmologies: Photography, Time and the Other offers a capacious and considered view of contemporary practices across the African continent and diaspora. Published on the occasion of an exhibition of the same name at FotoFest Biennial 2020 in Houston, the catalogue weaves together an inclusive group of thirty-two artists, spanning across four decades of photographic practice, whose works challenge traditional notions of Blackness and transnational histories in relation to concepts of liberty, rights, and representation. Edited by Steven Evans, Max Fields, and Mark Sealy, this handsome and readerly volume features an iconic photo by Rotimi Fani-Kayode across the front and back, and bronze-gilded pages. In addition to each artist’s portfolio is a selection of essays, ranging from epistolary interviews to critical examinations of contemporary exhibition practices around African photography and artists. Reflecting on the combination of essays and selected artists, juror Oluremi C. Onabanjo states, “It offers a rich entry point for someone who is trying to understand contemporary photographic practice and critical discourse surrounding the African continent and diaspora.”