In the Black Fantastic

A richly illustrated exploration of Black culture at its most wildly imaginative, artistically ambitious, and politically urgent.

A richly illustrated exploration of Black culture at its most wildly imaginative and artistically ambitious, In the Black Fantastic assembles art and imagery from across the African diaspora. Embracing the mythic and the speculative, it recycles and reconfigures elements of fable, folklore, science fiction, spiritual traditions, ceremonial pageantry, and the legacies of Afrofuturism. In works that span photography, painting, sculpture, cinema, graphic arts, music and architecture, In the Black Fantastic shows how speculative fictions in Black art and culture are boldly reimagining perspectives on race, gender and identity.

Each section—“Invocation,” “Migration,” and “Liberation”—includes an introductory text by Ekow Eshun and longer essays by Eshun, Kameelah L. Martin, and Michelle D. Commander.

The book features both coated and uncoated papers, along with three small 8-page pamphlets, which are sewn into the spine to provide a textured and tactile reading experience.