Photography in the Age of Sharing
A new show at the Huis Marseille, Amsterdam, considers how photographers have adapted to the age of Instagram.
Infinite Identities: Photography in the Age of Sharing asks important questions: how has social media allowed artists to explore issues of identity, society, politics and the definition of the art object? The work included in the show runs a gamut of forms and subjects, from Myriam Boulosâs searing images of life in Beirut following the Summer 2020 explosion to the satirical performance art of Martine Gutierrez; from Santi Palaciosâs photo-documentary shots of migrants crossing the Mediterranean to Thomas Lohrâs stylish, unsettling scenes of urban alienation.
Pérez says he found many similarities to the works produced by Latin American and Caribbean artists: “Among these parallels were questions of political and social oppression, colonialism and identity, all of which were deeply embedded in many of my favorite pieces from Cuba and numerous other Latin regions.”
You can see 100 of his pieces in an exhibition titled, “Witness: Afro Perspectives from the Jorge M. Pérez Collection,” at his year-old private museum, El Espacio 23 in Allapattah.
The art is exceptional and the curator behind “Witness” is, too. Zimbabwean-born Tandazani Dhlakama is assistant curator at Zeitz Museum of Contemporary Art Africa (MOCAA) in Cape Town, South Africa. Open since 2017, it is the first major contemporary art museum in Africa.