In Arles, on the Trail of a Free Africa
Blind Magazine traces a journey through the "Independence" chapter of the 57th edition of Les Rencontres d’Arles, highlighting exhibitions that reclaim African histories through photography and archival practices. Moving from Ghana and Côte d'Ivoire to the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Algeria, and Lesotho, the article examines how artists and photographers have preserved, revisited, and reimagined personal and collective narratives that challenge colonial perspectives and celebrate African self-representation.
The feature concludes with Ayana V. Jackson's exhibition, The Good News is Delivered not on Mountaintops but in Clearings, presented at the Abbaye de Montmajour. The article highlights Jackson's reimagining of overlooked historical horsewomen, including Selika Lazevski and the Adelitas of the Mexican Revolution, whose stories are reclaimed through the artist's staged photographic tableaux. Positioning her work as the culmination of the festival's exploration of liberation and historical revision, the article suggests that Jackson's practice invites viewers to move beyond official histories and recover "other lives of women who defied the conventions of their time."
Excerpte words written by Guénola Pellen.
