Reclamation of the Exposition
Learn about Black identity from the photographs by artist Tayo Adekunle
Artefact #03 from Reclamation of the Exposition (2020/2020) by Tayo AdekunleThe University of Edinburgh
Reclamation of the Exposition (2020) is a series of photographic works by Edinburgh College of Art graduate Tayo Adekunle. Exploring the commodification, fetishization and sexualisation of the black female body, two of these works – which are the focus of this story – were purchased by the University of Edinburgh Art Collection
Originally from Wakefield, West Yorkshire, Adekunle is a British Nigerian photographer based in London. Her work is centred around the reworking of historical tropes relating to the black female body, taking from contexts that include art historical paintings and sculptures as well as 19th-century colonial photography.
Reclamation of the Exposition #03 (2020/2020) by Tayo AdekunleThe University of Edinburgh
Adekunle uses self-portraiture and archives to replace and recreate historical figures and poses with her own image, illustrating how past treatment of the black body still affects black woman today.
“Predominantly my work responds to colonial expositions and World’s Fairs as well as human zoos and other forms of human display in 18th and 19th centuries."
Artefact #03 from Reclamation of the Exposition (2020/2020) by Tayo AdekunleThe University of Edinburgh
“These forms of display were important to me because they exemplified how the black body has been turned into a spectacle because of its physical difference – something that still happens today."
Now understood to be deeply racist, ethnographic expositions were public exhibitions of humans - sometimes referred to as human zoos - where individuals were placed on display to emphasise the cultural and physical differences between (usually) Europeans of Western civilization and non-European peoples.
Imagery from the expositions often involved the non-European peoples being photographed naked. These images were circulated around Europe as pornographic postcards.
“This postcard image uses Prince Roland Napoleon Bonaparte’s photographic collection ‘Boschimans et Hottentots’ which shows naked South African women posed in ways that accentuate their sexual and physical differences."
“Black (and other racial minority) bodies were photographed either naked in front of a white background, stripped of their identity, or surrounded by random tropical plants to make the photographs seem authentic."
Reclamation of the Exposition #03 (2020/2020) by Tayo AdekunleThe University of Edinburgh
In the larger of the two works, Adekunle takes a slightly different approach by using a method inspired by anthropometric-style photography to capture her own body from three views; clothed body front on and naked from behind.
Overlaying the image of her body are ruler markings, a nod to the concepts employed in the colonial era to measure physical difference.
“Providing a backdrop and covering the central images of my body are highly colourful Nigerian patterned fabrics, included both as a reference to my personal heritage and background, but also to highlight the absence and denial of identity within the original historical images.”
In 2020 the University of Edinburgh acquired both works from Adekunle’s 2020 degree show for the Art Collection.
“I feel incredibly lucky to have had my work collected by the University. As a black woman talking about treatment in which many institutions, including our own, have been built on, I did not expect this kind of reception.”
“There isn’t much space for black people within the art world and so it means a great deal to be made part of such a massive collection of works where my work can be seen and used to educate people on some very important issues.”
The University of Edinburgh Art Collection is committed to supporting artists historically underrepresented in collections. You can read about the history of female artists in the collection in our story 15 Artists / 200 Years.
The Collection is also committed to supporting the work of graduating artists; Adekunle is one of five graduates whose work was purchased by the Collection from the 2020 Degree Show. You can discover more about the graduates whose work has joined the collection in this way since 2013 in our story, A Point of Departure.
To discover Adekunle's full series for Reclamation of the Exposition and other work, visit the artist's portfolio.
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