Paintings by Frantz Zephrin are showcased in the Kafou – Haiti, Art & Vodou exhibition at Nottingham Contemporary. Photograph: David Sillitoe for the Guardian
Haiti is often known for its grinding poverty, brutal oppression and natural disasters but the biggest exhibition of its art ever staged in the UK aims to provide more of a balance. “When you walk in here, hopefully it is, on a simple level, visually eye-popping, astonishing,” said the director of Nottingham Contemporary, Alex Farquharson. “These images speak to a very rich culture. There is a lot of joy.” Farquharson was speaking ahead of the opening of a major show of Haitian art inspired by Vodou, the religion which has been a central part of people’s lives since Haiti became the world’s first black republic in 1804.