I wish there was color, I wish there was sound

I wish there was color, I wish there was sound Nederlands Fotomuseum

Brief

Paul Julien (1901-2001) made fifteen journeys through equatorial Africa between 1932 and 1962. His trips resulted in extensive photo and film reports, that are extraordinary in their variety and consistent quality. At the same time, they are problematic. The image that Julien sketched of ‘the African’ was strongly influenced by Western colonial views and continues to have a negative impact on the lives of people on the continent and its diaspora.

Approach

After Julien’s death, his photographic legacy was transferred to the Nederlands Fotomuseum. Here, artist and researcher Andrea Stultiens has been researching the archive and imbuing it with new perspectives since 2012. Through ‘rephotography’ and ‘collective making’ in collaboration with members of communities photographed by Julien, she brings the work back to its original context. In doing so, she provides space for valuable encounters, interactions, perspectives and collaborations.

Andrea’s research resulted in the exhibition and publication ‘I wish there was color, I wish there was sound’. In the publication, the ‘archive’ by Julien and the ‘activation’ by Stultiens are represented by separate bodies that are connected by a double spine. The index system allows readers to navigate between the two bodies and find parallels, connections and contradictions between ‘then’ and ‘now’. Readers are invited to reflect on how we should relate to beautiful photographs that nevertheless memorialize problematic pasts that remain painful to many people.

The publication is the eighth volume in the book series of the Nederlands Fotomuseum.