Without direct influence from pop art, despite appearances, the arty photographs of Kenyan Thandiwe Muriu focus more on the heritage of African black and white masters, Malick Sidibé or Seydou Keita. With one difference: the photos with the polished aesthetic of the 33-year-old artist born in Nairobi, now internationally recognized, are available in Technicolor. A set of astonishing female portraits highlights the identity and beauty of the black woman of the 21st century. With the exhibition “You thought you could throw me away” at the 193 Galerie in Paris, she breaks the codes and reinvents contemporary photography, in total opposition to the colonial imagery which has too often determined the perception of the African woman in West.
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Photography: Thandiwe Muriu, the African woman beyond the clichés
