Photographed by Korean artist Che Onejoon, the Tiglachin Monument in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, is one of many objects demonstrating the legacy of communist influence in Africa. "Red Africa," an upcoming book by Black Dog Publishing, explores the relationships between African states and communist governments during the Cold War years.
Photographed by Korean artist Che Onejoon, the Tiglachin Monument in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, is one of many objects demonstrating the legacy of communist influence in Africa. "Red Africa," an upcoming book by Black Dog Publishing, explores the relationships between African states and communist governments during the Cold War years.
courtesy Che Onejoon
Curator-turned-editor Mark Nash brought together historical items and responses to them by contemporary artists. Some of the propaganda art featured comes from the <a href="index.php?page=&url=http%3A%2F%2Fyevgeniyfiks.com%2Fartwork%2F3672493-Installation-view-The-Wayland-Rudd-Collection-a-project-by-Yevgeniy-Fiks-Photography-by-Etienne-Frossard.html" target="_blank" target="_blank">Wayland Rudd Collection</a>. Rudd was an African-American actor who moved to the Soviet Union for greater opportunities. He found fame on stage and in films, and also sat for propaganda artists, who sought to depict communism as a global socialist project.
Curator-turned-editor Mark Nash brought together historical items and responses to them by contemporary artists. Some of the propaganda art featured comes from the Wayland Rudd Collection. Rudd was an African-American actor who moved to the Soviet Union for greater opportunities. He found fame on stage and in films, and also sat for propaganda artists, who sought to depict communism as a global socialist project.
courtesy Calvert 22 Foundation
Photographer Jo Ractliffe captured this moment in front of a monument to former Angolan president Agostinho Neto. Nash argues that today many don't know about the period of communist influence, or may not want to know about it.
Photographer Jo Ractliffe captured this moment in front of a monument to former Angolan president Agostinho Neto. Nash argues that today many don't know about the period of communist influence, or may not want to know about it.
courtesy Jo Ractliffe/Stevenson Gallery
Propaganda art by Viktor Borisovich Koretsky, "Under Capitalism. Under Socialism!" (1948), shows a bonded black male under Lady Liberty with purported equality under the hammer and sickle of socialism.
Propaganda art by Viktor Borisovich Koretsky, "Under Capitalism. Under Socialism!" (1948), shows a bonded black male under Lady Liberty with purported equality under the hammer and sickle of socialism.
courtesy Calvert 22 Foundation
South Korean artists Che Onejoon created miniatures of three African monuments in the socialist realism style to "Red Africa." The African Renaissance Monument in Senegal (left), the Three Dikgosi Monument in Botswana (center) and a statute to an unknown soldier in Namibia were all constructed by North Korean firm Mansudae Art Studio.
South Korean artists Che Onejoon created miniatures of three African monuments in the socialist realism style to "Red Africa." The African Renaissance Monument in Senegal (left), the Three Dikgosi Monument in Botswana (center) and a statute to an unknown soldier in Namibia were all constructed by North Korean firm Mansudae Art Studio.
courtesy Calvert 22 Foundation
In the center of Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso, sits the Place des Cineastes, a Soviet-style monument to the country's film industry.
In the center of Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso, sits the Place des Cineastes, a Soviet-style monument to the country's film industry.
courtesy Isaac Julien/Victoria Miro, London
During the Cold War, leaders of African resistance movements met with communist leaders. Amílcar Lopes Cabral, leader of the independence movement in Guinea-Bissau, meets with Castro in Havana, Cuba, during the Tricontinental Conference, 1966.
During the Cold War, leaders of African resistance movements met with communist leaders. Amílcar Lopes Cabral, leader of the independence movement in Guinea-Bissau, meets with Castro in Havana, Cuba, during the Tricontinental Conference, 1966.
courtesy Fundacao Mario Soares/Arquivo Amilcar Cabral
Kiluanji Kia Henda's "Icarus 13, The First Journey to the Sun" (2007) creates a fictional narrative of a solar exploration mission in Luanda, Angola, as told through photographs of futurist socialist architecture.
Kiluanji Kia Henda's "Icarus 13, The First Journey to the Sun" (2007) creates a fictional narrative of a solar exploration mission in Luanda, Angola, as told through photographs of futurist socialist architecture.
Courtesy Galleria Fonti Napoli/Kiluanji Kia Henda
The African Renaissance Monument in Dakar, Senegal, stands 164 feet high -- 13 feet taller than the Statue of Liberty. Inaugurated in 2010, it depicts a man, woman and child in the socialist realism style.
The African Renaissance Monument in Dakar, Senegal, stands 164 feet high -- 13 feet taller than the Statue of Liberty. Inaugurated in 2010, it depicts a man, woman and child in the socialist realism style.
SEYLLOU DIALLO/AFP/AFP/Getty Images