Through photography, immersive video, animation, and installation, From the Deep unfolds as an enchanting, contemplative environment that transforms the Atlantic Ocean from a site of trauma brought by the slave trade to a realm of speculative fiction. Myth and memory converge to tell stories of ancestry, resilience, and the enduring afterlives of the Middle Passage. In her Afrofuturist world, Jackson offers visitors a space for reflection and repair.
Ayana V. Jackson is an American-born photographer, based in Brooklyn and Johannesburg, whose work critiques the colonial gaze and reimagines historical narratives of the Black diaspora. By restaging 19th- and early 20th-century portraiture—often casting herself in historical roles—she challenges photography’s role in shaping racial and gendered identities. Jackson’s art explores the ethical dynamics between photographer, subject, and viewer, and is held in major collections including the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston; the Studio Museum, Harlem; and the National Gallery of Victoria.
From the Deep was first curated and presented by the Smithsonian’s National Museum of African Art in 2023 and is toured by International Arts & Artists.
Photo credits: 1) Ayana V. Jackson, When the Spirit of Kalundo comes so does Kianda, 2019. Archival pigment print on German Etching paper, mounted on Dibond, 74.75 x 64.75 (framed). Image courtesy of the artist and Mariane Ibrahim, print courtesy of NMAfA, © Ayana V. Jackson. 2) 2. Ayana V. Jackson, It is only when you lose your mother that she becomes myth, 2020. Archival pigment print on German Etching paper, mounted on Dibond, 75 x 64.5 (framed). Image courtesy of the artist and Mariane Ibrahim, print courtesy of NMAfA, © Ayana V. Jackson. 3) Ayana V. Jackson, The self-forgetfulness of belonging would never be mine, 2019. Archival pigment print on German Etching paper, mounted on Dibond, 60.5 x 59 (framed). Image courtesy of the artist and Mariane Ibrahim, print courtesy of NMAfA, © Ayana V. Jackson. 4) 10. Ayana V. Jackson, Journey of the Deep Sea Dweller (Video Still 002), 2019. 4-channel projection. Video courtesy of the artist, © Ayana V. Jackson.