Published to coincide with the In The Black Fantastic exhibtion at Hayward Gallery which assembles art and imagery from across the African diaspora, embracing ideas of the mythic and the speculative. Featuring work from Leonce Raphael Agbodjelou's 'Egungun Series' 2011.
Neither Afrofuturism nor Magical Realism, but inhabiting its own universe, In The Black Fantastic brings to life a cultural movement that conjures otherworldly visions out of the Black experience, looking at how speculative fictions in Black art and culture are boldly reimagining perspecitives on race, gender, identity and the body in the 21st century.
Transcending time, space and genre to span art, design, fashion, architecture, film, literature and popular culture from African myth to future fantasies and beyond, this vital, timely and compelling publication is an expressive exploration of Black popular culture at its most wildly imaginative, articially ambitious and politcally urgent.
In the Black Fantastic is curated by Ekow Eshun and features the artists Nick Cave, Sedrick Chisom, Ellen Gallagher, Hew Locke, Wangechi Mutu, Rashaad Newsome, Chris Ofili, Tabita Rezaire, Cauleen Smith, Lina Iris Viktor and Kara Walker.
