A Kind of Paradise

What stories are concealed in historical photographs? And how have contemporary artists revealed these narratives? How colonial imagery continues to define identity, history, and belonging? How may these historical photography be reinterpreted?An increasing number of artists from the Global South—beyond the traditional 'West'—are addressing questions of their own history and heritage through photographs from the colonial era. In their works, they blend personal encounters with collective experiences, interweaving traces of memory with artistic imagination. Through textile, photographic, filmic, and sculptural photographic collages, new memories emerge that do not stop at a historical reflection on colonial oppression but remain in motion, offer resistance, and serve as a living foundation for the future. A Kind of Paradise is the first comprehensive survey of this international phenomenon. The featured artists are members of diasporas of Africa, the Americas, Asia, Australia, and Oceania, having engaged with colonial-era visual material. Participating artists (in alphabetical order): Aline Motta (Brazil), Andrea Chung (United States), Cédric Kouamé (Côte d’Ivoire), Daniel Boyd (Australia), David Shongo (DR Congo), Dimakatso Mathopa (South Africa), Dinh Q. Lê (Vietnam), Frida Orupabo (Norway), Mary Enoch Elizabeth Baxter (United States), Omar Victor Diop (Senegal) & Lee Shulman (United Kingdom), Raphaël Barontini (France), Rosana Paulino (Brazil), Sammy Baloji (DR Congo), Sasha Huber (Switzerland), Tshepiso Moropa (South Africa), Tuli Mekondjo (Namibia), Wendy Red Star (USA), Yuki Kihara (Samoa), Zenaéca Singh (South Africa).Published on the occasion of the 2026 exhibition at Rietberg Museum, Zurich.