Deanna Bowen

This black-on-black book brings together over 20 years of Deanna Bowen’s commitment to the excavation and recontextualization of colonial legacies―particularly those which implicate her family history and the Black diaspora in North America―making her artworks vital, both in Canada and abroad. Working primarily with photography―both rediscovered and new, but also video, documentary film, sound, performance, publishing, found objects and installation art ― Bowen introduces us to a re-reading of white historic and archival facts. From its early roots in experimental documentary to constellations of found imagery, Bowen’s practice has articulated how the familial histories of Black folks―histories often relegated to the margins ― illuminate the official record. When she re-contextualizes previously published images in her projects, or revives discarded negatives, Bowen is hyper-aware of W.E.B. Du Bois’ concept of “double consciousness”―the notion that to be Black is to live with the conflict of seeing yourself represented by White authors while profoundly recognizing the limits of such representation. - Crystal Mowry Co-published with Scotiabank Photography Award, Toronto