Kudzanai ChiuraiWe Live in Silence (Chapters 1-7), 2017
Drawing on Mauritanian filmmaker Med Hondo’s 1969 film ‘Soleil Ô’, Kudzanai Chiurai’s ‘We Live in Silence (Chapters 1–7)’ offers a layered and introspective reflection on the enduring legacies of colonialism during the early years of African independence. Taking Hondo’s critique as a point of departure – particularly his portrayal of the expectation that African migrants to Europe must think, speak, and interpret the world through the lens of their colonisers – Chiurai constructs a visual response that challenges these imposed ideologies. Through what he describes as “counter-memories,” he disrupts “colonial futures,” producing images that directly contest dominant historical narratives.
Chiurai reconstructs scenes in dialogue with ‘Soleil Ô’, incorporating references from popular culture and art history to propose alternative versions of both colonial pasts and imagined futures. A central concern in the series is the role of women in liberation movements. Referencing revolutionary leader Thomas Sankara’s statement that “there is no true social revolution without the liberation of women,” Chiurai deliberately casts female figures at the forefront of struggle. In doing so, he confronts the gender bias that frequently centres the black male as both the primary victim of colonisation and the presumed liberator of the post-colony.
Chiurai draws on religious and populist iconography, repurposing symbols once used to reinforce colonial and racial ideologies. These images are recontextualised to reflect a black experience shaped by both spiritual authority and political betrayal. By collapsing distinctions between past, present, and future, ‘We Live in Silence’ places the viewer within a non-linear narrative space that challenges fixed historical timelines. This temporal fluidity allows Chiurai to explore how the psychological and institutional residues of colonial power persist across generations. His protagonists, once marginalised, begin to assume positions of dominance – raising critical questions about how cycles of power and oppression are sustained and inherited.
