Corrales, NM
Details
- Dimensions
- 45ʺW × 2ʺD × 45ʺH
- Styles
- African
- Art Subjects
- Animals
- Frame Type
- Framed
- Period
- 2000 - 2009
- Country of Origin
- South Africa
- Item Type
- Vintage, Antique or Pre-owned
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- Materials
- C Print
- Condition
- Good Condition, Original Condition Unaltered, Some Imperfections
- Color
- Brown
- Condition Notes
- Very good condition Very good condition less
- Description
-
Signed, titled, numbered and dated (on the reverse)
6 of an edition of 9 + 2AP
digital c-print
100 by … more Signed, titled, numbered and dated (on the reverse)
6 of an edition of 9 + 2AP
digital c-print
100 by 100cm., 39½ by 39½in. (image); 112 by 110cm., 43¼ by 44¼in. (sheet)
Pieter Hugo
B.1976
SOUTH AFRICAN
Provenance:
Yossi Milo Gallery, New York
Please note that this work has not been examined outside of its frame. The colours remain rich with no apparent fading. The work appears to be in excellent condition.
In 2005 Hugo travelled to a shantytown outside of Abuja to follow and photograph the infamous Gadawan Kura (Hyena handlers). He had become fascinated by the men from an image on a friend's mobile phone. In his own words, he found:
“In Abuja we found them living on the periphery of the city in a shantytown – a group of men, a little girl, three hyenas, four monkeys and a few rock pythons. It turned out that they were a group of itinerant minstrels, performers who used the animals to entertain crowds and sell traditional medicines. The animal handlers were all related to each other and were practising a tradition passed down from generation to generation. I spent eight days travelling with them.
The spectacle caused by this group walking down busy market streets was overwhelming. I tried photographing this but failed, perhaps because I wasn't interested in their performances. I realised that what I found fascinating was the hybridisation of the urban and the wild, and the paradoxical relationship that the handlers have with their animals - sometimes doting and affectionate, sometimes brutal and cruel. I started looking for situations where these contrasting elements became apparent. I decided to concentrate on portraits. I would go for a walk with one of the performers, often just in the city streets, and, if opportunity presented itself, take a photograph…”
(artist monograph, 2009)
Initially introduced by Adetokunbo Abiola – a local journalist – Hugo returned the shoot the group further in 2007. The result from both trips are the series 'The Hyena and Other Men' I (2005) & II (2005- 2007). Both are a series of portraits of the Gadawan Kura with their animals.
The group pertain to being the only troupe able to domestic such wild animals, the techniques being passed down from father to son. However the sparse, derelict and marginal setting of Hugo's photos dismiss any romantic Western stereotypes of tradition African animal rearing. The group exist on the periphery of cities and society, captive by their own poverty, much like the animals they use for gain. Hugo comments on the reaction of European viewers, that they "invariably only ask about the welfare of the animals but this question misses the point. Instead, perhaps, we could ask why these performers need to catch wild animals to make a living."
“These pictures depict much more than an exotic group of travelling performers in West Africa. The motifs that linger are the fraught relationships we have with ourselves, with animals and with nature.”
PIETER HUGO
Hugo is a multiple award winner, including the 2008 Discovery Award, Les Rencontres d’Arles and his works are represented in many prominent collections, including the Victoria and Albert Museum, London; the J. Paul Getty Museum, Los Angeles; San Francisco Museum of Modern Art; the Museum of Modern Art, New York; and the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, which holds another print of the present work.
This comes with documentation to prove provenance and authenticity. less
Corrales, NM
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