Dawit L. Petros: Prospetto a Mare

Published on the occasion of the eponymous exhibition curated by Karen Irvine at the Museum of Contemporary Photography at Columbia College Chicago (MoCP), Dawit L. Petros: Prospetto a Mare delves into Petros's ongoing examination of the intricate connections between Italy, East Africa, Libya, and North America, particularly focusing on Eritrea, Ethiopia, and Somalia. This solo exhibition, alongside its accompanying publication, illuminates the ways in which colonialism and cultural memory are etched into the visual fabric and architectural landscape of Chicago. Petros's inquiry aligns seamlessly with the mission of the museum, contributing to contemporary dialogues on visual art and its impact on our collective understanding of history, society, and identity.

Through various artistic strategies, Petros probes the propaganda used to promote the Italian colonial project in Eritrea, Ethiopia, Libya, and Somalia and by extension, the newly formed Italian state; the technologies used to dominate occupied countries and simultaneously extoll the power of the occupiers; and the imperfect ways in which these histories are inscribed in public and private memory through monuments, storytelling, archives, and photography. Petros's works are largely concerned with global migration patterns-from the Italians who occupied the Horn of Africa in the late 1800s and early 1900s, to Africans who fled North and East Africa due to colonialization and subsequent instability, to Africans who move to North America and Europe via Italy today.

Within the pages of this publication, esteemed scholars-Lindsay Caplan, Teresa Fiore, Ruth Iyob, Cristina Lombardi-Diop, and Onur Öztürk-engage in thought-provoking explorations of Petros's work. They probe themes of colonialism, modernism, technology, migration, and cultural memory, offering invaluable perspectives that enrich our understanding of Prospetto a Mare and its significance.