Portugal’s colonial legacy through a lens

Historian Filipa Vicente recently put together a collaborative exhibition, which is on display in Lisbon until the end of November.

Her aim was to address the unsettling realisation that the colonial archive at the University of Lisbon was filled with nameless faces, most likely photographed without their consent.

Filipa, a university researcher, considers them to be ‘violent visual archives’, and in response, she began inviting Portuguese families of African descent to rummage through their own photo collections.

Colonial legacy photography feels dehumanising

She said, “For me, it was a need to create a counter-narrative. Colonial photography is so often a way of dehumanisation. So I really felt the need to see how photography can be used as a way of self-representation, self-expression, of humanising people.”

Delving into intimate moments ranging from pregnancies to wedding parties, the families chose each of the photographs in the exhibition, said Inocência Mata, a professor of literature at the University of Lisbon who co-curated the exhibit with Vicente.

“And that’s very important to us, to show that Black people are not only objects but also subjects of their history,” she expressed.

Colonial legacy exhibition photos date back to 1975

The family photos mostly date back to 1975 and reflect the experiences of 35 families who were part of a wave of migration from the country’s former colonies.

The family albums are contextualised by photos that reveal the centuries-long history of the city’s African community, which swelled as Portugal launched the transatlantic slave trade in the 15th century.

The exhibit encompasses personal stories that are closely intertwined with Portugal’s imperial history, as highlighted by Vicente. She emphasised the enduring impact of the country’s late and prolonged colonialism, which persisted until 1975, and how these narratives continue to influence contemporary life.

Colonial legacy exhibition at Monument of Discoveries

Additionally, Vicente shed light on another facet of Portuguese colonial history: the significant and influential community of African descent. This rich heritage is a testament to the profound and complex connections between Portugal and Africa.

The exhibition unfolds within the intimate confines of the Padrāo dos Descobrimentos, also known as the Monument to the Discoveries, a grandiose structure originally conceived to exalt and commemorate Portugal’s imperial endeavours.