Ayana V. JACKSON Diorama I - 2012 Pigment print on archival paper Edition 6/8 112 x 112 cm Pigment print on archival paper; edition 6/8 44.09 x 44.09 in. Provenance: Michael Steinberg Fine Art, New York Acquired directly from the latter by the current owner Exhibitions: Seattle, Mariane Ibrahim, Archival Impulse, 17 September - 24 October 2015 (a similar print) New York, 33 Orchard, Archival Impulse (curated by Michael Steinberg),13 November - 21 December 2014 Tokyo, Sho Contemporary, Distant selves, 20 December 2013 - 1 February 2014 (a similar print) Paris, Galerie Baudoin Lebon, Archival Impulse & Poverty Pornography, 19 September - 2 November 2013 (a similar print) Bibliography: Ayana V. Jackson, Archival impulse & poverty pornography, Galerie Baudoin Lebon and Galerie Momo, 2013, p.167 (a similar print reproduced in colour). "I wanted to fight photography with photography. "I wanted to fight photography with photography" Ayana V. Jackson FR Ayana V. Jackson is an American photographer who lives between Paris, New York and Johannesburg. She has exhibited at the Studio Museum in Harlem, the Princeton University Art Museum and the Museum of Contemporary Photography in Chicago. In 2022, she founded a residency for contemporary sub-Saharan artists, and the following year she had her first major exhibition at the Smithonian National Museum of African Art. At the heart of this exhibition are works from her 'Archival Impulse' series, which is the first of her attempts at archival deconstruction. Ayana carries out extensive research into ethnographic photography from the late 19th century, from which she draws the composition of her works: she is both the model, posing in the place of her subjects, and the photographer of her shots; she is involved at every level of her artistic creation. She is on the side of the oppressor who scrutinises and photographs, the black woman whose body is studied and sexualised to this day. The body she represents is both political and artistic. Unlike the original photographs, the bodies are detached from the background, brought to the fore to confront the public with the dehumanising reality of nineteenth-century ethnographic studies. But through her art, she regains control over the narrative; she invokes this painful historical memory, and staves off oblivion while changing the vision of these bodies and setting them free. EN Ayana V. Jackson is an American photographer who divides her time between Paris, New York, and Johannesburg. Her work has been exhibited at the Studio Museum in Harlem, the Princeton University Art Museum, and the Museum of Contemporary Photography in Chicago. In 2022, she founded a residency for contemporary sub-Saharan artists, and the following year, she held her first major exhibition at the Smithsonian National Museum of African Art. At the heart of this exhibition were works from her series Archival Impulse, her first attempt at deconstructing the archive. Ayana undertakes extensive research into ethnographic photographs from the late 19th century, using them as the compositional basis for her works. She is both the model, replacing the original subjects, and the photographer of her images, taking control at every level of her artistic process. She embodies both the oppressor, who scrutinizes and photographs, and the Black woman, whose body has historically been studied and continues to be sexualized today. The body she portrays is both political and artistic. Unlike the original photographs, the bodies in her work are detached from their backgrounds, brought into the foreground to confront the audience with the dehumanizing reality of 19th-century ethnographic studies. Through her art, however, Jackson reclaims the narrative. She invokes this painful historical memory, defies oblivion, and transforms the perception of these bodies, liberating them and rewriting their stories. Ayana V. JACKSON "I wanted to fight photography with photography". "I wanted to fight photography with photography Ayana V. Jackson EN Ayana V. Jackson is an American photographer who lives between Paris, New York and Johannesburg. She has exhibited at the Studio Museum in Harlem, the Princeton University Art Museum and the Museum of Contemporary Photography in Chicago. In 2022, she founded a residency for contemporary sub-Saharan artists, and the following year she had her first major exhibition at the Smithonian National Museum of African Art. At the heart of this exhibition are works from her 'Archival Impulse' series, the first of her attempts at archival deconstruction. Ayana carries out extensive research into ethnographic photography from the late 19th century, from which she draws the composition of her works: she is both the model, posing in the place of her subjects, and the photographer of her shots; she is involved at every level of her artistic creation. She is on the side of the oppressor who scrutinises and photographs, the black woman whose body is studied and sexualised to this day. The body she represents is both political and artistic. Unlike the original photographs, the bodies are detached from the background, brought to the fore to confront the public with the dehumanising reality of nineteenth-century ethnographic studies. But through her art, she regains control over the narrative; she invokes this painful historical memory, and staves off oblivion while changing the vision of these bodies and setting them free. EN Ayana V. Jackson is an American photographer who divides her time between Paris, New York, and Johannesburg. Her work has been exhibited at the Studio Museum in Harlem, the Princeton University Art Museum, and the Museum of Contemporary Photography in Chicago. In 2022, she founded a residency for contemporary sub-Saharan artists, and the following year, she held her first major exhibition at the Smithsonian National Museum of African Art. At the heart of this exhibition were works from her series Archival Impulse, her first attempt at deconstructing the archive. Ayana undertakes extensive research into ethnographic photographs from the late 19th century, using them as the compositional basis for her works. She is both the model, replacing the original subjects, and the photographer of her images, taking control at every level of her artistic process. She embodies both the oppressor, who scrutinizes and photographs, and the Black woman, whose body has historically been studied and continues to be sexualized today. The body she portrays is both political and artistic. Unlike the original photographs, the bodies in her work are detached from their backgrounds, brought into the foreground to confront the audience with the dehumanizing reality of 19th-century ethnographic studies. Through her art, however, Jackson reclaims the narrative. She invokes this painful historical memory, defies oblivion, and transforms the perception of these bodies, liberating them and rewriting their stories.