Vadu Rodrigues utilizes his artistic practice to challenge negative stereotypes imposed on people from the African continent. The artist begins by documenting cultural practices across Africa and within the Black diaspora. He then weaves these photographs into assemblages made with materials that channel memories, as well as carry stories and traditions from the communities he visited. In turn, Rodrigues’s assemblages reflect his love of portraiture and celebrate the people who carry traditions. Likewise, the artist also uses photography as a tool of cultural resistance to reject the way photography has historically been used to support colonial and imperial projects. In turn, we are invited, as Rodrigues writes, to “reflect on the complexity of African identity and the sacredness of Black bodies.”

Curator: Rachel Winter

Assistant Curator, MSU Broad Art Museum