Max Pinckers: State of Emergency - Harakati za Mau Mau kwa Haki, Usawa na Ardhi Yetu

State of Emergency - Harakati za Mau Mau kwa Haki, Usawa na Ardhi Yetu is a documentary project in collaboration with Mau Mau war veterans and Kenyans who survived colonial atrocities. In the form of in-person reenactments, or 'demonstrations', together they (re)visualise the fight for independence from British colonial rule in the 1950s, manifesting their past experiences in the present with a future audience in mind. With most of the colonial archives deliberately destroyed, hidden or manipulated, this project attempts to shine a light on this history’s blind spots by creating new ‘imagined records’ that fill in the missing gaps of historical archives. State of Emergency interweaves fragmentary colonial archives, photographs of architectural and symbolic remnants from the past, mass grave sites, demonstrations and the testimonies of people who experienced and survived the war themselves.

Shortlisted for the Photo-Text Book Award at the Rencontres d'Arles Book Awards, and the PHotoESPAÑA Best Photograph Book of the Year Award in the Investigación category 2024

Title: State of Emergency - Harakati za Mau Mau kwa Haki, Usawa na Ardhi Yetu
Publisher: Self Published, 2024

Authors: Text contributions by Hans Theys, Rose Miyonga, Julius Kimari,
Wangui Kimari and Suhayl Omar

Research/Production: Victoria Gonzales-Figueras

Graphic Design: Rudy Latoir, Hans Theys and Max Pinckers

Photographers: Max Pinckers, various others
Format: Flexible Hardcover
Size: 30 x 24 cm, 448 pages
ISBN: 9789082465563