The Short Century: Independence and Liberation Movements in Africa 1945-1994.

The Short Century: Independence and Liberation Movements in Africa 1945-1994 edited by Okwui Enwezor Prestel, April 2001, $75.00 ISBN 3-791-32502-7

The Short Century was published in connection with an exhibition of the same name. Organized by the Museum Villa Stuck in Munich, Germany, the exhibit was curated by Okwui Enwezor, who also edited this volume.

The book presents a more animated and engaging view of Africa than the stereotypical images of its problems or of a romanticized homeland. It attempts to study and illustrate cultural aspects of Africa's assorted liberation struggles and its progress at nation building. It does so by looking at areas of the performing and fine arts, photography, literature, theatre, architecture, music and film.

The Short Century is very uneven. While it allows the casual reader to flick through visual representations of Africa's modern history, the written contributions appear random and fragmented. A major section featuring over 100 pages of visual artists' work is merely referred to as "plates" on the contents page, with no contextual notes whatsoever.

Such careless attention to detail does not do justice to the work featured. Only by examining the biographies of the contributors do questions arise as to how Enwezor has constructed his own notion of Africa. For example, the artist Yinka Shonibare was born in, and continues to live in London. The artists Oladele Bangboye and Zarina Bhimji both left African countries as children, yet their work is featured alongside that of African-born and resident African artists. No distinction whatsoever is made between the former and the latter. As a result, this book, supposedly with alternative visions of Africa, can be as problematic as the ones they are attempting to critique or replace.

Eddie Chambers is an independent curator and writer of art criticism based in Bristol, England.