Shifting Dialogues

Photography from The Walther Collection

Apr 9, 2022 — Sep 25, 2022

Tickets

  • Nontsikelelo (Lolo) Veleko, Nonkululeko, 2003. © The artist. Courtesy the artist, Goodman Gallery, Johannesburg and The Walther Collection, Neu- Ulm/New York.
  • Santu Mofokeng, Eyes-wide-shut, Motouleng Cave, Clarens, 2004 © Santu Mofokeng Founda-tion. Courtesy MAKER/Lunetta Bartz, Jo-hannesburg und The Walther Collection, Neu-Ulm/New York.
  • Lebohang Kganye, Setupung sa Kwana Hae II, 2013 © The artist. Courtesy the artist, AFRONOVA GALLERY, Johannesburg and The Walther Collection, Neu-Ulm/New York.
  • Sammy Baloji, Untitled 6, 2006. © The artist. Courtesy the artist and The Walther Collec-tion, Neu-Ulm/New York.
  • Samuel Fosso, Self-Portrait (Angela Davis), 2008 © The artist. Courtesy the artist, Jean Marc Patras, Paris and The Walther Collec-tion, Neu-Ulm/New York.
  • Rotimi Fani-Kayode, Untitled, 1987–1988. Courtesy Autograph ABP, London and The Walther Col-lection, Neu-Ulm/New York.

How are cultural and historical processes of transformation reflected in the medium of photography? With more than 500 photographic works from Africa, its diaspora, and Europe, the exhibition “Shifting Dialogues. Photography from The Walther Collection” traces the development of photography as a history of transnational parallels and contradictions: showcasing the beginnings of ethnographic images during the colonial era, self-determined studio photography – and politics of self-fashioning – from the 1940s onwards, and the potent visual activism practiced by a constituency of contemporary artists in the present. The photographic and lens-based media artworks assembled here systematically reveal the ambivalent – and shifting – relationship between image and self-image, portraiture and social identity, representation and performance.

An important point of reference is the 2010 group exhibition “Events of the Self: Portraiture and Social Identity,” curated by Okwui Enwezor (1963 – 2019) for The Walther Collection. A decade later, the Kunstsammlung Nordrhein-Westfalen pays tribute to Okwui Enwezor’s pioneering curatorial vision and the extraordinary commitment of the collector Artur Walther. Thanks to their profound contributions toward expanding the cultural history of photography, we are now able to present groundbreaking projects which have hardly been considered within this museum’s discourse until now.

Artists: Martina Bacigalupo, Sammy Baloji, Oladélé Ajiboyé Bamgboyé, Yto Barrada, Bernd und Hilla Becher, Jodi Bieber, Edson Chagas, Mimi Cherono Ng’ok, Kudzanai Chiurai, Alfred Martin Duggan-Cronin, Theo Eshetu, Em’kal Eyongakpa, Rotimi Fani-Kayode, Samuel Fosso, François-Xavier Gbré, David Goldblatt, Kay Hassan, Délio Jasse, Seydou Keïta, Lebohang Kganye, Sabelo Mlangeni, Santu Mofokeng, S.J. Moodley, Zanele Muholi, Mwangi Hutter, Mame-Diarra Niang, Grace Ndiritu, J.D. 'Okhai Ojeikere, Dawit L. Petros, Jo Ractliffe, August Sander, Berni Searle, Malick Sidibé, Penny Siopis, Mikhael Subotzky, Guy Tillim, Hentie van der Merwe, Nontsikelelo Veleko, Sue Williamson and historical pictures by among others Samuel Baylis Barnard, Kimberley Studio, W. Rausch and many other known or unidentified photographers.

The exhibition is conceived in close collaboration with The Walther Collection, supported by curatorial consultant Renée Mussai.

Advised by Contemporary And (C&)

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  • Supported by

Installation views

  • Sabelo Mlangeni andTheo Eshetu, installation view K21, Kunstsammlung Nordrhein-Westfalen 2022, photo: Achim Kukulies
  • Jo Ractliffe, As Terras do Fim do Mundo, 2009-2010 © Die Künstlerin. Courtesy die Künstlerin, Stevenson, Kapstadt und Johannesburg und The Walther Collection, Neu-Ulm/New York. Installation view, K21, Kunstsammlung Nordrhein-Westfalen 2022, photo: Achim
  • Zanele Muholi andKudzanai Chiruai, installation view K21, Kunstsammlung Nordrhein-Westfalen 2022, photo: Achim Kukulies
  • Guy Tillim and Yto Barrada, installation view K21, Kunstsammlung Nordrhein-Westfalen 2022, photo: Achim Kukulies
  • Rotimi Fani-Kayode, installation view K21, Kunstsammlung Nordrhein-Westfalen 2022, photo: Achim Kukulies
  • J.D. 'Okhai Ojeikere and Malick Sidibé. Courtesy Kunstsammlung Nordrhein-Westfalen and The Walther Collection Neu-Ulm/New York. Installation view K21, Kunstsammlung Nordrhein-Westfalen 2022, poto: Achim Kukulies
  • Jodi Bieber, Samuel Fosso, and Malick Sidibé. Courtesy Kunstsammlung Nordrhein-Westfalen and The Walther Collection Neu-Ulm/New York. Installation view K21, Kunstsammlung Nordrhein-Westfalen 2022, Foto: Achim Kukulies
  • August Sander and Seydou Keïta. Courtesy Kunstsammlung Nordrhein-Westfalen and The Walther Collection Neu-Ulm/New York. Installation view K21, Kunstsammlung Nordrhein-Westfalen 2022, photo: Achim Kukulies
  • Edson Chages and Hentie van der Merwe, installation view K21, Kunstsammlung Nordrhein-Westfalen 2022, photo: Achim Kukulies
  • Samuel Fosso, African Spirits, 2008 © Der Künstler. Courtesy der Künstler, Jean Marc Patras, Paris and The Walther Collection, Neu-Ulm/New York. Installationsansicht K21, Kunstsammlung Nordrhein-Westfalen 2022, photo: Achim Kukulies
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