Pia Arke and Maud Sulter's Decolonial Visions Through Photography
Presentation Type
Event
Start Date
8-3-2026 7:50 AM
Description
Pia Arke (1958–2007) and Maud Sulter (1960–2008) were photographers whose work remains underrepresented, positioned as pioneers of institutional critique that, from the 1990s onward, sought to address alternative and invisible histories. Despite their distinct cultural contexts, both artists developed parallel strategies. Juxtaposing their practices connects the Arctic to the African diaspora, challenging monolithic notions of identity and revealing how racialised histories are inscribed in place and representation. Both returned as adults to their maternal homelands and actively contributed to their communities, operating at the intersections of gender, race, and colonialism. Arke’s Danish–Inuit heritage and Sulter's Scottish–Ghanaian background root their work in decolonialism. They reclaim visual narratives traditionally dominated by a Eurocentric vision. Both artists used experimental photographic methods. Language was equally central: Sulter, a prizewinning author, championed vernacular Scots, while Arke advocated for Greenlandic Inuit. Collage became a shared strategy for dismantling the colonial gaze. Together, their practices illuminate how photography can reinscribe silenced histories and expand the geography of decolonial critique.
Brenda Bikoko (she/her) is a lecturer at Sint-Lucas Antwerpen and PhD candidate at Vrije Universiteit Brussel.
Relational Format
Conference proceeding
Recommended Citation
Bikoko, Brenda, "Pia Arke and Maud Sulter's Decolonial Visions Through Photography" (2026). Women of Photography: A 24-Hour Conference-a-thon Celebrating International Women’s Day. 17.
https://egrove.olemiss.edu/womenofphotography/2026/schedule/17
Pia Arke and Maud Sulter's Decolonial Visions Through Photography
Pia Arke (1958–2007) and Maud Sulter (1960–2008) were photographers whose work remains underrepresented, positioned as pioneers of institutional critique that, from the 1990s onward, sought to address alternative and invisible histories. Despite their distinct cultural contexts, both artists developed parallel strategies. Juxtaposing their practices connects the Arctic to the African diaspora, challenging monolithic notions of identity and revealing how racialised histories are inscribed in place and representation. Both returned as adults to their maternal homelands and actively contributed to their communities, operating at the intersections of gender, race, and colonialism. Arke’s Danish–Inuit heritage and Sulter's Scottish–Ghanaian background root their work in decolonialism. They reclaim visual narratives traditionally dominated by a Eurocentric vision. Both artists used experimental photographic methods. Language was equally central: Sulter, a prizewinning author, championed vernacular Scots, while Arke advocated for Greenlandic Inuit. Collage became a shared strategy for dismantling the colonial gaze. Together, their practices illuminate how photography can reinscribe silenced histories and expand the geography of decolonial critique.
Brenda Bikoko (she/her) is a lecturer at Sint-Lucas Antwerpen and PhD candidate at Vrije Universiteit Brussel.