Imagining Tomorrow
“The audacity of hope, the bold declaration to believe and clarity of vision for a better life and world are the seeds of personal growth, revolutionised societies and life-changing technologies. Desire, hope and imagination are the cornerstones of social change and the first targets for those who fight against it.” In Afrofuturism: The World of Black Sci-Fi and Fantasy Culture (2013), author Ytasha Womack discusses the power of imagination within Afrofuturism.
Visual artists Ruby Okoro creatives fantastical scenes by adding elements of the supernatural to the everyday. The self-taught Nigerian image-maker began his career through colourful paintings with grand compositions. These qualities comes through in his current photographic projects. The series Heavens Belong to You (2021) could easily have been plucked out of a sci-fi story or a dream.
Representation is also at the core of Alexia Fiasco’s (b. 1990) project Les Dernieres Fauvettes. Blue cyanotypes show people from the Les Fauvettes housing estate in the Parisian suburb Pierrefitte.
(See photograph above)
