Black On Both Sides: Exploring African Identity at The Walther Collection

The ongoing three-part photography series “Distance and Desire” at The Walther Collection in Chelsea explores themes of African identity. Here, Life + Times sits down with art collector and founder, Artur Walther, as we chronicle part one, “Archival Encounters,” in which photographs of South African subjects in the 1920s taken by white Europeans are juxtaposed with self-portraits of South African subjects of the same time period. We also look ahead to the future installments of the series, including contemporary works shaped by the archives.