Africa Is a Country

The Minister of Finance

The Minister of Finance

By
Sean Jacobs

“The Minister of Finance,” one of a series of over the top, mock portraits by Zimbabwean-born, Johannesburg-based artist  Kudzanai Chiurai. The work was first exhibited as “Dying to be Men” and is currently on show in London (at the Victoria & Alibert Museum as part of a big show on contemporary South African photography) as “The Parliament.” Below is the PR from the Victoria & Albert. You can also see the full series on the website of his South African gallery’s website:

His satirical series The Parliament depicts the fictitious characters of an imaginary government cabinet in a parody of media representations of masculinity and political power. The series draws upon the conventions of African studio portraiture, dramatised magazine features, hip-hop, film and fashion as well as the story lines, stereotyped characters and plots of soap operas.

Here’s the Minister of Education:

And, the Minister of Defense:

Further Reading

L’impérialisme ne localise pas

En 1973, Josie Fanon a interviewé Oliver Tambo, alors président de l’ANC, à propos d’Israël et de l’apartheid en Afrique du Sud. Il est désormais disponible pour la première fois depuis sa publication originale.

On Safari

On our annual publishing break, we ask: if the opposite of “weird” is normal, what if normal is equally problematic?

Zau is a mirror

Inspired by a tapestry of Bantu folk stories, the video game ‘Tales of Kenzera: Zau’ is rich with mythology that many Africans know as our heritage.

Food wars

The theft dispute between Onezwa Mbola and Nara Smith reveals the consumerist undertones behind content for women in the online creative economy.

Not an obvious hero

In a new film, former UN-Secretary General Dag Hammarskjöld is portrayed as a defender of a fledgling postcolonial state. But his role in the Congo Crisis is more complicated.

Not only kafala

Domestic workers in the Gulf typically face a double bind: as a foreign worker, you are governed by kafala laws, while as a female, you are governed by the male guardianship system.