Gallery Purchase

Mikael Owunna found his voice in art and photography, he says, after American society alienated him as an immigrant and African circles alienated him as a gay man. From 2013 to 2017, he embarked on a major documentary project titled Limit(less), photographing and telling the stories of 50 LGBTQ African immigrants in North America and Europe. Through the project, Owunna aims to debunk the idea that homosexuality is “un-African,” while unearthing the European colonial roots of that notion. Four Queer African Women in the Snow is the first group portrait in the series, created to convey the importance of support and found family within the LGBTQ migrant community. The styles of those pictured along with the wintry setting work together to challenge traditional notions of nationality and identity.

Bibliography

"Agenda: Our Pick of Books and Exhibitions Arriving in October." The British Journal of Photography, 10, 2019: 11-3.

"Artist Mikael Owunna reveals inherent beauty, power & dignity of Black & LGBTQ+ bodies." We Can Be podcast from The Heinz Endowments, 7 July 2020, https://www.heinz.org/podcast.

Feinstein, Jon. “Stunning Portraits of LGBTQ African Immigrants Around the World.” Vice, 11 Oct. 2019. https://www.vice.com/en_us/article/j5yvj7/limitless-africans-is-a-stunning-snapshot-of-lgbtq-african-immigrant-lives.

Queer Continent: Mikael Owunna's Limitless Africans – in Pictures. 12 Nov. 2019, www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/gallery/2019/nov/12/mikael-owunna-limitless-africans-in-pictures.

Reed, Bry. “A Reflection on Limitless Africans.” The Davidsonian, 30 Oct. 2019, www.davidsonian.com/a-reflection-on-limitless-africans/.

Risch, Conor. "CELEBRATING QUEERNESS IN THE AFRICAN DIASPORA." PDN ; Photo District News 39.7 (2019): 140-1. ProQuest. Web. 9 July 2020.

Sawa, Dale Berning. “Four Queer Women Defying the Snow: Mikael Owunna's Best Photograph.” The Guardian, 19 Aug. 2020, www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2020/aug/19/four-queer-women-defying-the-snow-mikael-owunna-best-photograph.

Van Every/Smith Galleries Blog: PROFS TALK ART: DR. LAURIAN BOWLES

Dr. Ann Fox’s “Disability in Literature & Art” class wrote and recorded image descriptions of some of the works in the Van Every/Smith collection. Here two students give a description of the work through their perspectives: Abigail Dietrich ‘24 and and Kenny Eheman ‘25.