The Afronauts

The Afronauts (2011) reimagines the true story of the failed Zambian Space program first announced in 1964. De Middel blurs the lines between fact and fiction while playfully encouraging the audience to willingly suspend its disbelief and invest in the dream. Her photographs, often collaborations with local Zambian residents who dress up in wonderfully patterned space outfits made by De Middel’s grandmother, riff on traditional African folklore and the trappings of technology.

Cristina de Middel is a London-based photographer who has worked for numerous Spanish newspapers. She combines her documentary assignments with personal projects that ask the audience to question the veracity of photography as a document by playing with archetypes that blur the border between reality and fiction.

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