“…The struggle of black people inevitably appear in an intensely cultural form because the social formation in which their distinct political traditions are now manifest has constructed the arena of politics on ground overshadowed by centuries of metropolitan capitalist development, thereby denying them recognition as legitimate politics. Blacks conduct a class struggle in and through race. The BC of race and class cannot be empirically separated, the class character of black struggles is not a result of the fact that blacks are predominantly proletarian, thought this is true…”- (Frank Talk Staff Writers in ‘Azania Salutes Tosh’ – circa 1981)
front cover:
Tosh by Steve Gordon
back cover:
Kippie by Basil Breakey
Masks off: Reflecting the African Art Movement from Modern to Contemporary from Local to Global by Adbelrahiem Faisal (Arak Collection, 2025)
In this publication, artworks are looked at as an expression and documentation of one’s experiences. The layers that make up an artwork overlap, just as much as the make-up of one’s personality. The conversation put forth focuses on both the subject matter of each artist and the languages and artistic vocabulary used. The publication also provides examples of artworks where iconography that is foreign (to the artist) can be used to express something familiar, such as one’s traditions or history, and vice versa. It provides a new narrative to understand the art of Africa in a world that is constantly exchanging thoughts and ideas.