New York Diary: Being-New Photography 2018 at MoMA
Hiding our faces like a dancing wind. 2016 (still). Video (color, no sound), 7 min., 30 sec © 2017 Yazan Khalili, courtesy the artist and Lawrie Shabibi, Dubai
Being: New Photography 2018 at MoMA asks "how photography can capture what it means to be human". It includes over 80 new and recent works by 17 artists from 10 countries. The exhibition is on until 19th August 2918.
At a time when questions about the rights, responsibilities, and dangers inherent in being represented—and in representing others—are being debated around the world, the works featured in Being call attention to assumptions about how individuals are depicted and perceived.
Many challenge the conventions of photographic portraiture, or use tactics such as masking, cropping, or fragmenting to disorient the viewer. In others, snapshots or found images are taken from their original context and placed in a new one to reveal hidden stories.
While some of the works might be considered straightforward representations of individuals, others do not include images of the human body at all. Together, they explore how personhood is expressed today, and offer timely perspectives on issues of privacy and exposure; the formation of communities; and gender, heritage, and psychology.
The artists in Being: New Photography 2018 include:
Sofia Borges (Brazilian, born 1984)
Matthew Connors (American, born 1976)
Sam Contis (American, born 1982)
Shilpa Gupta (Indian, born 1976)
Adelita Husni-Bey (Italian, born 1985)
Yazan Khalili (Palestinian, born Syria, 1981)
Harold Mendez (American, born 1977)
Aïda Muluneh (Ethiopian, born 1974)
Hương Ngô and Hồng-Ân Trương (American, born Hong Kong, 1979; American, born 1976)
B. Ingrid Olson (American, born 1987)
Joanna Piotrowska (Polish, born 1985)
Em Rooney (American, born 1983)
Paul Mpagi Sepuya (American, born 1982)
Andrzej Steinbach (German, born Poland, 1983)
Stephanie Syjuco (American, born Philippines, 1974)
Carmen Winant (American, born 1983)