Mikael Owunna
Nigerian-Swedish, b. 1990
Brian—Queer Rwandan (Pronouns: he or she), Limit(less)
2016
Photograph
Mikael Owunna’s Collection
“My Africa is one that is intrinsically hate-free, welcoming, comprehensive and protective. It’s not about knowing if LGBTQ is ‘un-African’ or not but it’s more about understanding that homophobia and transphobia are clearly not derived from African values, culture and traditions,” (Brian).
There are cultural expectations of gender roles in the African diaspora; an expectation that women will dress as women, and men will dress as men, and judgement when these lines of gender are crossed. Brian confronts these cultural expectations as they choose to defy definitions and boundaries of gender. They wear lipstick that stains their lips a bright red, they have painted their eyelashes to draw attention to their eyes, and they wear a headdress that illuminates their face. All of these attributes–the makeup of an individual–are characteristically feminine. Brian defies expectations of gender by painting themselves as the opposite gender they are assumed to be.
Amanda Banasiak ’20
Bibliography
Chin, Matthew. “Feelings, Safe Space, and LGBTQ of Color Community Arts Organizing.” Journal of Community Practice. Jul-Dec 2017. pp. 391-407.
There are only a number of spaces where individuals of the LGBTQ community feel safe against oppression. The creation of art and art spaces acts as physical walls which protect these individuals to express their true selves.
Donnella, Leah. “Picturing Queer Africans in The Diaspora.” National Public Radio. May 12, 2017.
Mikael Owunna experienced alienation and “otherness” from his community when he came out to his family; his parents sent him to Nigeria to reconnect with his roots as they believed his sexuality was a result of America’s culture. Owunna’s photographs pushes back against the belief that being queer and being African are at odds.
Frost, Stuart. “Exploring and Interpreting LGBTQ Histories.” Interpretation Journal, 22. Summer 2017. pp. 7-8.
LGBTQ histories and experiences have traditionally been overlooked or underrepresented by museums and galleries. This show aims writes narratives of these experiences through art.
Jama, Aisha. “Photos: LGBTQ Africans express identity in ‘Limit(less)’ Ways.” PBS News Hour. Aug 28, 2015.
Limit(less) is a documentary photographic project which illuminates the lives of first and second-generation LGBTQ Africans. The series illustrates the “limitless” ways that LGBTQ Africans navigate their lives in a society that views their multiple identities as mutually exclusive.
Igor, Efeoghene. “Rethinking the Egalitarian Potential of Post Apartheid South Africa: Zanele Muholi’s Intervention.” Radical History Review, 126. Oct 2016. pp. 181-193.
Queer and lesbian Africans are targets of sexual violence and disrespect in Africa; they are victims of rape and sexual abuse. Zanele Muholi’s, through her series of “Faces and Places,” gives these victims the authority to speak against the disrespect they experience.
Irish, Anni. “Mapplethrope Legaxy Endures at Guggenheim.” Modern Painters, 37. Apr 2019. 122-123.
U.S. photographer Robert Mapplethrope (1946-1989) is an emblematic figure within the art world and the LGBTQ community as he photographs experiences being LGBTQ. His advocacy in depicting these individuals parallels Muholi, Gyamfi and Owunna’s work illustrating the lives of the LGBTQ community in Africa and the diasporas.
Roberts, Kamaria. “How one photographer is challenging the myth that being LGBTQ is ‘un-African’.” PBS News Hour. Jun 9, 2017.
It is an African myth that being queer is a direct result of overexposure to Western culture and that it is against African culture to be queer, despite the multiple individuals who have identified as queer in Africa’s culture. Mikael Owunna’s documentary photography project aims to eliminate these narratives and reveal that being queer and being African are not mutually exclusive.
Schjedahl, Peter. “Safe Space.” New Yorker. Oct 9, 2017. Pp. 78-79.
This articles reviews the LGBTQ art exhibit “Trigger: Gender as a Tool and a Weapon,” which was held at the New Museum of Contemporary Art in New York City. It adds to the narrative of LGBTQ artists representing themselves through safe spaces in the art world.