Kudzanai ChiuraiWe Live in Silence XVIII, 2017
Kudzanai Chiurai’s practice employs a revisionist approach to disrupt what he terms “colonial futures,” embedding counter-memories into historical narratives as a means of addressing the omissions and distortions of the colonial project. Through photography, film, installation, and performance, his work opens up new readings of visual culture in Africa, advancing a decolonial framework that foregrounds the political complexities, social textures, and divergent voices present across the continent.
‘We Live in Silence’ marks the final chapter in a three-part series that also includes ‘Revelations’ and ‘Genesis [Je n’isi Isi]’. This ambitious body of work continues Chiurai’s interrogation of postcolonial power structures by constructing alternative histories. Drawing inspiration from Mauritanian filmmaker Med Hondo’s 1967 anti-colonial film ‘Soleil Ô’, Chiurai responds to the expectation that African migrants to Europe must think, speak, and understand the world through the lens of their colonisers. Through a process of visual mimicry and re-enactment, he restages scenes from the film alongside references from popular culture and art history to propose new, speculative readings of the colonial archive.
Central to the series is Chiurai’s repositioning of the female figure in liberation narratives. By casting women as the protagonists in his imagined histories, he challenges the entrenched gender bias that frames the black male as both the primary victim of colonisation and the agent of liberation. These reimaginings not only broaden the historical scope but also restore agency to figures long excluded from dominant narratives.
What emerges is a surrealist world where the most vulnerable are elevated to the realm of gods and ancestors. Figures appear adorned in radiant regalia, flanked by spiritual entities, and enthroned as liberators and freedom fighters. The dreamlike compositions prompt viewers to question inherited histories and break free from the narrow constraints of colonial logic.
