Zamrock People’s Museum: Photo Archive
photographer: Maingaila Muvundika
The Zamrock People’s Museum: Photo Archive is a continuous body of work created thorugh the Radical Archiving framework which looks to create the space for community archives to flourish and be a part of a historical trace within the story of Zamrock. During the exhibition, a Photo Booth installation was built using upcycled fabrics and a studio stool, taking inspiration from an array of African photographic studios in the 1960’s which made use of bold patterning in the studio design as well as in the attire of the people captured behind the lens.
📁 Radical Artchiving 📁
radical / /ˈradɪk(ə)l/
adjective
1.(especially of change or action) relating to or affecting the fundamental nature of something; far-reaching or thorough.
"a radical overhaul of the existing regulatory framework"
archiving /ˈɑːkʌɪv/
verb
1. gerund or present participle: archiving
place or store (something) in an archive.
Personal Definition of Radical Archiving:
The act of overhauling historical and present systems of archiving in order to birth and nurture a more democratised and representative space for the storage of and thus interaction with collective histories (mainly those of marginalised groups)
Archiving/Storytelling As a Point of Power
The stories we know of ourselves, as Zambian people, we learn or are taught through the hegemonic power structures that engulf society. We have previously been on the [oppressed] receiving end of projected and exerted power within narrative construction which in turn has influenced our perception > positionality > representation. "...existence, preservation and availability of archives, documents and records in our society are very much determined by the distribution of wealth and power" - (Zinn, 1970)