Afterall Issue 53 Explores Medium, Metaphor, and Decolonial Critique

The 53rd issue of Afterall Journal, entitled 'Medium/Metaphor/Milieu', delves into the nature of exhibitions and their broader implications. It opens with a discussion of Canadian artist Stan Douglas's algorithmically generated works from the 1990s, proposing the exhibition as a cybernetic medium, while drawing on ideas from Marshall McLuhan, Gilbert Simondon, and Georges Canguilhem. McLuhan’s theories are connected to African philosophy (Mamoussé Diagne) and culture (Anawana Haloba), with Ginger Nolan referencing his 'global village' concept linked to 1950s Kenyan colonial propaganda. This volume critiques institutional authority across the Americas, southern Mediterranean, and China, challenging global colonialism narratives and warning against decolonial dogma, citing Eve Tuck and K. Wayne Yang. Harun Farocki's exploration of 'operational images' is included, and Charles Stankievech's foreword cautions about the allure of metaphor and AI. An addendum clarifies that two statements are incorrect.