Abstract

In 1986 Kenyan writer Ngũgĩ wa Thiong’o argued that ‘[t]he choice of language and the use to which language is put is central to a people’s definition of themselves’ (Ngũgĩ 1986:4). This article re-applies Ngũgĩ’s analysis to contemporary African photographic practice, since images are similarly central to people’s self-definition. Collaborating with the Zambian National Visual Arts Council, the practice-research project Stories of Kalingalinga developed a photographic workshop (2019) and exhibition (2020) to counteract Zambia’s lack of institutional engagement with photography. Focused on Kalingalinga, a high-density neighbourhood undergoing gentrification in Zambia’s capital Lusaka, the workshop provided space to experiment in decolonising creative practice through slow action research. As a photographer, animateur and curator from the global north, I present work by Zambian project participants Scotty Jongolo, Danny Chiyesu, Zenzele Chulu, Edith Chiliboy, Natalia Gonzalez Acosta, Margaret Malawo Mumba, Dennis Mubanga Kabwe, David Daut Makala, Muchemwa Sichone and Yande Yombwe. The article discusses the decolonisation of Zambian photography and the workshop’s deepening of my own decolonial photographic practice. I highlight the importance of empowering Zambian photographers through encouraging critically informed image-making in contemporary African photographic practice. African visual self-governance requires building supportive communities that embrace alternative and creative ways of knowledge creation.

摘要

1986 年，肯尼亚作家 Ngũgĩ wa Thiong'o 认为，“语言的选择和语言的使用是人们对自己的定义的核心”（Ngũgĩ 1986 :4）。本文将 Ngũgĩ 的分析重新应用于当代非洲摄影实践，因为图像同样是人们自我定义的核心。与赞比亚国家视觉艺术委员会合作，实践研究项目“Kalingalinga的故事”开发了摄影研讨会（2019 年）和展览（2020 年），以抵消赞比亚缺乏对摄影的机构参与。该研讨会专注于赞比亚首都卢萨卡正在高档化的高密度社区 Kalingalinga，为通过慢动作研究来实验非殖民化创造性实践提供了空间。作为一名来自全球北方的摄影师、动画师和策展人，我展示了赞比亚项目参与者 Scotty Jongolo、Danny Chiyesu、Zenzele Chulu、Edith Chiliboy、Natalia Gonzalez Acosta、Margaret Malawo Mumba、Dennis Mubanga Kabwe、David Daut Makala、Muchemwa Sichone 和扬德·永布韦。文章讨论了赞比亚摄影的去殖民化以及工作坊对我自己去殖民化摄影实践的深化。我强调通过鼓励在当代非洲摄影实践中进行批判性知情图像制作来赋予赞比亚摄影师权力的重要性。非洲的视觉自治需要建立支持性的社区，以接受替代性和创造性的知识创造方式。