Generation Z (Centre of African Studies, University of Cambridge)

The photographic series Generation Z documents the changing urban experience in Lusaka, the capital of Zambia. Generation Z combines the acknowledgement of Hacker’s own European visual heritage with the experience of extended stays in Lusaka. She asks viewers to contemplate change in Zambia and dismantle neocolonial visual discourses. In August 2017, the Generation Z series was exhibited at the Henry Tayali Gallery in Zambia, by invitation of the Visual Arts Council of Zambia. The Generation Z series was originally aimed at a British audience, however, it also sparked debate amongst Zambian photographers on how to develop methods of showing a wider, more diverse view, which highlights the country’s unique character. The discussions highlighted that Zambia’s visual identity outside the country, and to some extent within the country, is often based on a stereotypical African narrative, which was felt not to reflect life experienced within Zambia. It is therefore not a question of if Generation Z represents of modern Africa ‘correctly’, but if they contribute to the debate on how Zambia could be represented. These images debate the dangers of neo-liberal consumerism on African culture and what this means to the people of Zambia, but also illustrated the visual ‘proof’ of the so often demanded economic progress of an African nation. It highlights the chasm between Zambians’ daily experience of their urban lives in Lusaka, and the photographs they see of themselves in the international media. Generation Z was photographed in Lusaka in 2016 – 17.