Ethiopia’s Contemporary Artists

This article explores how contemporary Ethiopian artists use visual storytelling to challenge dominant political narratives, reclaim historical memory, and foster critical dialogue. Through in-depth interviews with three leading artists—Dawit Abebe, Ashenafe Mestika, and Wendimagegn Belete—the piece examines how their work reflects Ethiopia’s complex sociopolitical landscape, shaped by ethnic tensions, colonial legacies, and the aftermath of civil war. Belete’s Code Switch layers archival colonial maps with images of Indigenous scarification, creating a visual tension between imposed histories and personal identity. Abebe’s Jerba series presents anonymous, hunched figures alongside historical documents, inviting reflection on ethnic identity and the erasure of personal histories. Meanwhile, Mestika’s Togetherness? depicts entangled human forms, questioning whether Ethiopia’s diverse communities can truly coexist. Despite their differing approaches, all three artists use the human body as a central motif, emphasizing that political struggles are always experienced on a deeply personal level. As Ethiopia grapples with internal divisions and global misrepresentations, these artists provide an alternative to both state-controlled narratives and reductive Western media portrayals. Their work challenges viewers to reconsider Ethiopia beyond simplistic frameworks by, instead, highlighting the country’s rich, multilayered histories. Using aesthetics as a form of resistance and storytelling, these artists push the boundaries of how history, memory, and identity are understood and represented. Their work not only documents Ethiopia’s present but also invites audiences—both local and global—to engage in a more nuanced, participatory conversation about the nation’s future.