In this exhibition at the Art Institute of Chicago, works by 17 artists reflect pan-African perspectives on the natural world, exploring its significance as a source of freedom, sustenance and enlightenment (2 November–21 April 2025). Highlights include photographs from the series Nadir (1987), by South African photographer Jo Ractliffe, which mostly comprises stark images of animals in the landscapes of apartheid-era South Africa, and Brazilian artist and Candomblé priest Ayrson Heráclito’s Cabeça de Nanã (2009), from the series Bori (Feed the Head), which pictures ritual offerings of nourishment to Yoruba deities. The exhibition accompanies the museum’s major show Project a Black Planet: The Art and Culture of Panafrica (15 December–30 March 2025), which seeks to provide a wider view of pan-Africanism and its expressions in contemporary culture. Find out more from the Art Institute of Chicago’s website.
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Nadir 6 (1987), Jo Ratcliffe. Art Institute of Chicago. © Jo Ractliffe
Cabeça de Nanã from the Bori (Feed the Head) series (2009), Ayrson Heráclito. Art Institute of Chicago. © Ayrson Heráclito
Santiniketan Studies (A Century Before Us II): Infinite Study (2018), The Otolith Group (Anjalika Sagar; Kodwo Eshun). Art Institute of Chicago. © The Otolith Group