Visualising China in Southern Africa: Biography, Circulation, Transgression

The book Visualising China in Southern Africa explores the expanding presence of China in Africa through the lens of the visual arts and material culture. It features the work of contemporary African and Chinese artists and examines broader material production that predates the current relationship, highlighting the neglected field of Chinese and African encounters.

Format: Paperback / softback
Length: 376 pages
Publication date: 01 April 2023
Publisher: Wits University Press

With China's ascendance as the new superpower, its presence in Africa has expanded, resulting in significant economic, geopolitical, and cultural shifts. However, the field of Chinese and African encounters through the lens of the visual arts and material culture remains relatively neglected. Visualising China in Southern Africa is a groundbreaking volume that seeks to rectify this imbalance by engaging with the work of contemporary African and Chinese artists while analysing broader material production that foreshadows the current relationship. The essays in this collection are diverse in their analysis of ceramics, photography, painting, etching, sculpture, film, performance, postcards, stamps, installations, political posters, cartoons, and architecture.

Richly illustrated, the collection features scholarly chapters, photo essays, interviews, and artists' personal accounts, organized around four themes: material flows, orientations and transgressions, spatial imaginaries, and biographies. Some of the artists, photographers, filmmakers, curators, and collectors featured in this volume include: Stary Mwaba, Hua Jiming, Anawana Haloba, Gerald Machona, Nobukho Nqaba, Marcus Neustetter, Brett Murray, Diane Victor, William Kentridge, Kristin NG-Yang, Kok Nam, Mark Lewis, the Chinese Camera Club of South Africa, Wu Jing, Henion Han, and Shengkai Wu.

This volume offers a valuable contribution to the study of Chinese and African relations, shedding light on the complex and multifaceted interactions between these two regions. By exploring the visual arts and material culture, it provides a fresh perspective on the historical, social, and cultural dynamics that have shaped the relationship between China and Africa over the past century. The essays are written by leading scholars and artists, and the artwork is of exceptional quality, making this volume a must-read for anyone interested in the study of contemporary art, global politics, and cultural exchange.

Dimension: 254 x 203 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9781776147670