ONLINE TALK: ‘Scratching the Surface‘ with Photographer Justin Keene

Friday 21 January 2022

In this online conversation, Justin Keene will present his series ‘Walls in the Riverbed’

Messums London presents its first contemporary photography show by artists Nii Obodai and Justin Keene. Through a selection of delicately composed and elusive images, this exhibition encourages us to ponder our relationship with nature and read cultural history through the environment.

Based in the UK, Justin Keene (b. 1989) directs his photographic lens on South Africa, where his parents lived. Across his lyrical and poetic imagery, Keene explores concepts of identity and representation, as well as his conflicting relationship with this country, its colonial legacy and the so-called ‘born free’ generation. His current body of work, ‘Walls in the Riverbed’, examines colonial archives depicting South Africa’s early diamond mining industry — using his personal connection with the topic to interpret representation of imperial legacies.