ART REVIEW: Photographer Tony Gum Takes On Post-Colonialism in South Africa

July 26, 2022 CATALYST Team

In her newest exhibit titled “Milked In Africa”, South African photographer Tony Gum captures a blend of rich tradition and modern commercialism.

Tony Gum has been labeled “the coolest girl in Cape Town” by Vogue Magazine. Fempire. CC BY-NC 2.0.

Located on Park Avenue in New York City’s bustling midtown, the city’s branch of Swedish photography museum Fotografiska displays newly published collections by internationally renowned artists. One current exhibition is entitled “Milked in Africa” by South African photographer Tony Gum, who uses self portraiture to highlight and emphasize various aspects of traditional African art while also commenting on the impacts of colonization and western exploitation. Her colorful interpretations of her Xhosa culture and heritage provide a unique starting point for discussions about Western stereotypes of Africa and how globalization has affected modern African identities.

Tony Gum’s “Milked In Africa” relies heavily on the significance of color and the tradition of body painting in Xhosa culture. Tanaya Vohra. CC0.

Born in July of 1995, Gum grew up in and around Cape Town, South Africa, and began growing her social media presence from a very young age. Her work centers around everyday life in South Africa and draws a lot of inspiration from her personal experiences as a Xhosa woman in the 21st century. This manifests in blended expressions of the incredibly rich history of her heritage with more contemporary interpretations of African and South African culture, highlighting how the old and the new have necessarily become intertwined over time. She has also cited celebrated Malian and South African photographers Malick Sidibé and Zanele Muholi, as well as Nigerian novelist Chimamande Adiche Ngozi as having heavily influenced her projects.

Gum’s unique style is also present in her signature combinations of photography and graphic design with the more traditional methods of painting and sculpture. This allows her to layer her messaging and further underline the differences between her culture before and after the extensive globalization and commercialization experienced by many African nations in recent times.

“Black Coca-Cola” uses an iconic American symbol to confront consumerism and female labor. Tony Gum. CC BY-NC-ND 2.0.

Tony first gained international recognition with her collection entitled “Black Coca-Cola” which compiles a number of self-portraits displaying the well-recognized Coca Cola bottles. In one snapshot, she wears a headband adorned with cola cans reminiscent of bunny ears, while in another, she can be seen carrying a crate of cola bottles on her head in place of a water basin. By centering the collection around such a quintessential American logo, Tony questions the role of the West in the rapid rise of consumerism within the context of female labor and colonialism in South Africa.

Although officially begun back in 2016, Tony has recently added to another collection, “Milked in Africa”, which continues this conversation with another series of self-portraits meant to invoke similar questions about the post-colonial exploitation still rampant in many African countries today. In these photographs, Tony is painted green and poses with milk in various phases of its production as a metaphor for how much the legacy of western colonialism has permeated pan-African culture.

“Milked in Africa” brings into focus the legacy of post-colonial exploitation in Africa. Tanaya Vohra. CC0.

The artist herself has commented on how her pursuit of photography is not just for the sake of art, but that the messages in her work are addressed to the African and South African communities. “There’s so much richness in us that should be embodied and glorified,” she says, perfectly encapsulating her work’s color celebration of Xhosa culture and tradition.

“Milked in Africa” is on display at Fotografiska New York from June 10, 2022 tuntil August 21, 2022.