Atong Atem works primarily with photography and video to explore contemporary identity through portraiture and in particular the fluidity of migrant narratives and postcolonial practices in the African diaspora. Atem explores concepts of home and identity through a critical and sentimental lens and references the works of photographers Malick Sidibe and Seydou Keita as well as science fiction writers such as Octavia Butler as her aides in navigating these liminal spaces. Through hyper-stylised costuming and makeup of vivid hues, Atem traverses the secular, the personal and sometimes dramatic through beaux arts. Dust is an experimental photobook in response to and commemorating the commissioned body of work Dust by  Atong Atem for PhotoIreland Festival 2023 . Dust, commissioned by Catherine E. McKinley for PhotoIreland Festival 2023, explores the relationship of Dinka women who act as mediums and custodians to the earth, to the rupturing history of Christianity and
colonialism.

On the occasion of this commission, riso publisher Dream Press (S. Africa) designed and produced an edition of 200 risograph publication. Each publication is hand-bound, comprising unique details such as inserts, beaded stitching, with an embossed texture, silver effect, laser-cut book cover. The commission and publication is supported by the Arts Council of Ireland.