Black Matrilineage, Photography, and Representation: Another Way of Knowing

Black Matrilineage, Photography, and Representation explores the complex relationship between Blackness, photography, and gender, challenging racist images and discourses and reclaiming the brilliance of Black women through personal stories, history, political acts, connections to place, moments of pleasure, and communal celebration.

Format: Paperback / softback
Length: 336 pages
Publication date: 03 October 2022
Publisher: Leuven University Press

Black Matrilineage, Photography, and Representation delve into the intricate complexities of the Black female body, particularly focusing on the Black maternal body, as it navigates the pervasive societal structures that perpetuate false narratives about both her body and that of her maternal ancestors. Through a comprehensive exploration of scholarly research and contemporary art, this book aims to rectify these misconceptions and provide a more accurate portrayal of Black motherhood, nurturing, and intergenerational care within Black communities.

The essays and interviews in this collection, accompanied by a carefully curated selection of images, delve into the multifaceted relationship between Blackness and photography, particularly its gendered dimension, its connections to health, sexuality, and digital culture, particularly within the context of racialized heteronormativity. By challenging racist images and discourses both historically and in their ongoing presence in contemporary society, this collection seeks to reclaim the inherent brilliance of Black women through personal narratives, historical accounts, political activism, connections to place, moments of joy, and communal celebrations.

This visual exploration of Black motherhood through photographs created by Black woman-identifying photographers serves as a reflection of the past and a gateway to the future, contributing to the growing body of scholarship on the richness and complexity of Black life and joy. This book emerges from the project Women Picturing Revolution, where you can find more information at {URL}.

Contributing authors to this project include Tomi Akitunde (founder and editor-in-chief of mater mea), Grace Aneiza Ali (New York University), Emily Brady (University of Nottingham), Lesly Deschler Canossi (Women Picturing Revolution), Nicole J. Caruth (independent curator), Haile Eshe Cole (University of Connecticut), Atalie Gerhard (Saarland University), and Kellie Carte.

Weight: 785g
Dimension: 230 x 170 x 17 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9789462702868