New Directions The inaugural Bristol Photo Festival kicks off with a programme of exhibitions and events running from Spring to Autumn 2021. It celebrates the cultural and political power of the photographic medium at a time of newfound reckoning with the cityâs imperial and colonial heritage. We preview five of the most exciting shows and projects on offer. Sarah Waiswa: Lips Touched with Blood, Bristol Museum and Art Gallery | Until 31 October âThis project deals with the impact of colonialism on identity in Kenya,” says Sarah Waiswa, whose contemporary portraits of African people are displayed alongside manipulated images from the archive âreframing and challenge existing narratives around colonialism, power and identity. “The archival images show the power imbalance that existed between the colonialists and the natives. The photographers had the power to define the narrative. They presented the people in the way they saw them, and not necessarily as who they were. By blacking-out the subjects, I interrupt that colonial gaze and take the power away from the photographer. I hope the viewer will ask themselves “who are these people?” That is the question I wish the photographer would have asked. By juxtaposing my images of young Kenyans, I hope that the images can show a reclamation of identity. There was erasure in colonial time. This project is an attempt to reconstruct and recreate the subjectsâ own identity on their own terms.”