A curator noticed colonial-era photographs from archives appearing in contemporary artists’ work despite vast online availability. An exhibition curated at Museum Rietberg, “A Kind of Paradise: Colonial-Era Photography in Contemporary Art,” examines how artists draw on historical photography and apply it in multiple ways. Examples include artists represented at the Venice Biennale, such as Sammy Baloji and Rosana Paulino. The selection process focused on depth and multiple layers in scenes and stories. Many artists expand photography into sculptures, films, or recontextualized images. The process and gestures involved are central to meaning, as shown by Sasha Huber, who reclothes images of enslaved people with shimmering armor made by piercing photographs, turning fury into protection and care. The exhibition is organized into four sections, including one centered on artists acting as archivists.
"“which is very strange, considering the millions of photos that are online available in these archives”"
"“I was looking for depth,” Guyer explains, “or multiple layers in the scenes or the stories that these artists were telling through their art.”"
"“It turned out that the practice, the process of creating this art was so meaningful,” Guyer says. “The gestures were always such an important part of the whole meaning of the artwork.”"
"For example, the Swiss artist Sasha Huber takes the photographs of naked enslaved people from American plantations commissioned by the naturalist Louis Agassiz to prop up his theory of a hierarchy of races, and reclothes them in shimmering armour made from piercing the photographs with a staple gun. Her fury at injustice is turned into protection and care."
#colonial-era-photography #contemporary-art #museum-exhibition #archival-reinterpretation #race-and-slavery
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