A museum in Wuhan, China has been condemned for racism after exhibition pictures of black people next to pictures of animals.
As reported by Shanghaiist, the ‘This is Africa’ exhibit portrayed the works of Chinese photographer Yu Huiping. The exhibit was aimed to provide an insight into “primitive life” in Africa through pictures of humans and animals.
In the exhibit, photos of wild animals are framed alongside images of African people with similar facial expressions.
Yu, who is also the vice president of Hubei’s Photographers Association, said he had a deep love for African wildlife and people after visiting more than 20 times.
“Yu Huiping’s photography is perceptive, smart and visually impactful, capturing the vitality of primitive life. The photos seem to jump right out of the lens, leap out of the screen,” said Zhao Yingxin, president of the China Photographic Publishing House.
Fang Qin, the director of the museum said the exhibit provides a wider range of knowledge and artistic interest to visitors. A visitor from Hunan named Zhang said the images provided a deeper understanding of African customs and traditions.
A video uploaded by Nigerian Instagram user Edward E. Duke showed a glimpse of the exhibit. “首都博物馆 the capital museum in Wuhan, China put pictures of a particular race next to wild animals why? Are they the only race to have impoverished looking,” Duke wrote in the post. The post has since been deleted but the video can be seen below.
In the video, a photo of a lion growling is seen displayed next to an African man with a similar expression. A chimpanzee is also seen with an open mouth next to an image of a child.
Shanghaiist states that the part of the exhibit that shows Africans next to animals is titled 相由心生, which translates to “outward appearance follows inner reality”.
