Brahim Tall: “In my work, I explore the relationship between the black body and its representation. How we perceive and see these bodies influences how people of colour view themselves.”
“In the 1970s, a British film scholar named Laura Mulvey introduced the concept of the ‘male gaze’, which refers to the sexualized and objectifying way in which women are portrayed in films and in society at large. The male gaze has the perverse effect that many women then adapt their behaviour to it.”
“Since then, authors such as Frantz Fanon, Audrey Lord and Stuart Hall, as well as filmmakers such as Med Hondo and Steve McQueen, have demonstrated that people of colour are subject to the same scrutiny and are expected to meet a multitude of unspoken standards. Consider the stereotype of the muscular, well-endowed black man. Or the blackface tradition: white actors who painted their faces black to play a caricature of a black man. Black women are held to a different standard of beauty, which is often associated with lighter skin. This complex of stereotypes and prejudices is called ‘colourism.’”
“My work aims to show that the way black bodies are portrayed is not innocent, but always coloured by this stereotypical gaze. A camera seems neutral, but it is not: a camera is a weapon. It is no coincidence that we use the term ‘shooting images.’”
“Based on this question, I determine what form a work must take: photography, film, installation, performance, etc. In other words, I have a transmedia practice.”
“I’m personally affected by this issue. My father is from Senegal, my mother from Flanders in Belgium. I am perceived as black in Belgium, but as white in Senegal. Many mixed-race people have this experience. Although my friends who immigrated to Belgium had it much harder than I did. I grew up in Leuven, without any major financial worries. I realize that I will always have a safety net to fall back on.”
