Salesman of Revolt

In this series of 12 woodcuts, artist Hamedine Kane honours the Black literary and revolutionary heritage. The works refer to the covers of books that are often sold by young street vendors in Dakar – editions by authors and thinkers like James Baldwin, Calixthe Beyala and Frantz Fanon, who dared to challenge prevailing ideas. The public distribution and celebration of these texts on the streets represents a form of non-violent resistance and highlights their transformative power.

Through these works, Kane examines the widespread impact of racial discrimination on Western and non-Western societies, questioning traditional forms of knowledge transmission and calling renewed attention to the revolutionary Black literature of the 1950s-1980s and beyond. At the same time, the artist addresses political and ecological themes like exclusion and healing.

The series was created in 2018 in collaboration with the artist Tejswini Sonawane. It is inspired by Kane's performance piece Salesman of Revolt (2018) and an earlier video work.