Archival Bodies in Ayana V. Jackson’s Demons Devotees I-IV

Résumé

The article focuses on the notion of archival bodies in Ayana V. Jackson’s Demons Devotees I-IV (2013) photographic series. The artist’s work refers to Alice See-ley-Harris’ self-portrait with Congolese children from 1905, in the context of King Leopold II’s brutal regime. Seeley-Harris’ photographs, seen from the perspective of postcolonial and decolonial studies, raise an important question about the power of images from Africa and their existence in the collective memory of the West. In that context, I propose to read the notion of archival bodies as liminal bodies, where the power dynamic and historical burden of representation lies. Jackson’s artistic practice is an example of bridging the two to deconstruct the co-lonial gaze toward decolonial change and the possibility of challenging West-centered and white-centred narra-tives. Jackson creates a visual story on empowerment, womanhood, and blackness by mimicking (or “mimic-ry-ing”) the visual culture of pain and helplessness. The act of remembrance in Jackson’s practice is translated into several issues regarding the colonial matrix of pow-er, collective memory, herstory, and, most importantly, the notion of the body.