According to Homi Bhabha^*, there is a space ‘in between the designations of identity’, and that ‘this interstitial passage between fixed identifications opens up the possibility of a cultural hybridity that entertains difference without an assumed or imposed biography’. Joie de Vivre is situated somewhere along this passage. The exhibition seeks to examine the “new relationship” between the Western world and Africa, and examines the outcomes and representations of Africa when it reaches the West (Israel and the US) and vice versa.

Through the medium of photography, the exhibiting artists borrow from art history, fashion, advertising, underground culture, and digital media, in order to create images that are local and at the same time awkwardly universal. The artists carry a strong yet subtle autobiographical touch, as well as a unique interpretation of a lifestyle traditional to their region. Joie de Vivre explores the “new relationship” of new consciousness manifested in frameworks such as Globalizatio” and Westification, capitalistic relationships that do not reflect the political or diplomatic situation, and that derive from a controversial balance of power.

The proposed exhibition constitutes an alternative testimony to geopolitical issues of culture and identity, and wishes to partake in a controversial discourse of postcolonial criticism versus positive aspects of appropriation and mutual influence.

* Bhabha, Homi K. The Location of Culture, London; New York: Routledge, 1994