Alfredo JaarSearching for Africa in Life, 1996
‘Searching for Africa in Life’ forms a powerful part of Alfredo Jaar’s ongoing critique of how Africa is represented, or more often omitted, in Western media. Rooted in his broader conceptual practice, the work exposes the systemic biases embedded in image culture and the failures of journalistic institutions to reflect global realities with equity and care. Jaar has long interrogated the power of images to shape public consciousness, frequently turning to archival materials to reveal what is left unsaid. In this work, he challenges the cultural assumptions underlying mass media, prompting viewers to consider the implications of invisibility and the selective construction of global narratives.
The installation consists of LED lightboxes displaying all 2,128 front covers of ‘LIFE’ magazine published between 1936 and 1996. Arranged in a grid and presented as colour transparencies on plexiglass, the work makes starkly visible the absence of Africa from decades of publication. The title itself functions as both a statement and a provocation: a search for Africa within a magazine that claimed to reflect the world, yet systematically excluded it. By presenting the covers in this cumulative form, Jaar allows viewers to witness the patterns of omission for themselves, exposing how a major visual archive reduced an entire continent to sporadic appearances, often in contexts of conflict or crisis. The work stands as a lasting indictment of the politics of representation and a call to see more clearly, critically and inclusively.
