Autograph's 35th Anniversary Exhibitions Revisit Black Photographic Histories
Autograph, formerly known as the Association of Black Photographers, is commemorating its 35th year since its establishment in London in 1988. The organization is currently hosting two noteworthy exhibitions that will be available until January 2024. One exhibit features Armet Francis, a Jamaican-born British photographer and co-founder of Autograph, who presents striking visuals from locations such as Notting Hill, Kingston, and Harlem, incorporating figures like Angela Davis and Bob Marley. Meanwhile, Hélène Amouzou showcases her self-portraits from 2007 to 2011, which merge her identity with attic spaces, tackling themes of statelessness and colonial legacies. Autograph has been located at Rivington Place since 2007.
Key facts
- Autograph was founded in 1988 as the Association of Black Photographers.
- Autograph's first exhibition, Autoportraits, was held in 1991 at Camera Work in East London.
- Stuart Hall was Autograph's founding chair and wrote the essay 'Black Narcissus' for the 1991 catalogue.
- Autograph opened a permanent space at Rivington Place in London in 2007.
- The two current exhibitions are Armet Francis: Beyond the Black Triangle and Hélène Amouzou: Voyages, on view through January 2024.
- Armet Francis is a Jamaican-born British photographer and one of Autograph's founders.
- Francis developed the concept of 'the Black Triangle' to express connections between Africa, the Americas, and Europe.
- Hélène Amouzou is originally from Togo and created Autoportrait – Molenbeek while seeking asylum in Belgium.
- Amouzou's self-portraits use long exposures to blur her body into the attic environment.
- The exhibitions are not explicitly framed as a 35th anniversary commemoration.
- Kimberly Schreiber is an art historian based at University College London and wrote the article.
Entities
Artists
- Armet Francis
- Hélène Amouzou
- Stuart Hall
- Angela Davis
- Ian Hall
- Bob Marley
- Malcolm X
- Kimberly Schreiber
Institutions
- Autograph
- Association of Black Photographers
- Camera Work
- University College London
Locations
- London
- Brixton
- East London
- Rivington Place
- Notting Hill
- Kingston
- Harlem
- New York
- Africa
- Americas
- Europe
- Belgium
- Togo