James Mollison "The Disciples & James and Other Apes"
Hasted Kraeutler
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Hasted Hunt presents James Mollison, “The Disciples,” and “James and Other Apes”, his international gallery debut.
“The Disciples” are panoramic format portraits of music fans photographed as they leave performances. The groups are distinctive because they have dressed in the style of the singers or bands they have just been watching. These are "fans" all seemingly caught at the same moment in front of a seamless background as they leave concerts ranging from Marilyn Manson to Dolly Parton. The images bear a keen relationship to Richard Avedon’s classic group portraits of the Chicago Seven and the Joint Chiefs.
Mollison’s earlier series “James and Other Apes” consists of startlingly intimate portraits of chimpanzees, gorillas, orangutans and bonobos. These are presented singly and in grids. “James and Other Apes” reflects the artist’s youth in Africa and his fascination with the compelling similarity between Man and Ape. The work was shot over a four-year period in ape sanctuaries from the Congo, Cameroon, to Indonesia. The subjects are mainly orphans, often victims of the illicit trade in “bush meat” and live pets. They are photographed as unique individuals whose survival is under threat. The faces raise moral and scientific questions about what it means to define ourselves as “human”.
He is best known for this long-term project. It debuted at the Rencontres d’Arles, and that exhibition was subsequently presented at the Natural History Museum in London and in Florence, Liverpool, Stockholm, The Hague and Sydney. “James and Other Apes” was published in 2004 with an introduction by Jane Goodall.
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Schedule
from June 12, 2008 to August 16, 2008