In The Afronauts, the Spanish photographer visually recreates this aborted project, playing with the question of truth of documentary. "I am really interested in documenting facts that are unbelievable but true and other phenomenons that are completely false but people tend to believe," de Middel states. This research resonates with her previous work, such as the Polyspam series.
The story of the Zambian space program was also a perfect starting point for de Middel to look differently at the African continent. "today, finding positive stories about Africa remains a difficult task for anyone interested in getting a more complete picture of what is really going on in the continent," the photographer points out. "Here, in the 'developed countries', we are used to see African people dying or killing themselves, jumping naked or dressed as primitive warriors. The middle class seem to have disappeared, happy families are invisible and children either starve to death or become soldiers. And that is why the idea of an African space program sounds funny and incredible (in that order, first funny, then incredible). But this story is true. Even if the images that document it were taken in Spain almost 50 years later."
The Afronauts will be presented during the Salone del Mobile 2013, at La Rinascente, integrated in the Afrofuture program of events. Cristina de Middel will present the project via a performance located between fiction and reality, which will infuse a new dimension into her work.
