Output details
34 - Art and Design: History, Practice and Theory
University College London : A - History of Art
Figures and Fictions
This output is a curatorial project consisting of an exhibition, a book and an ipad app/ebook.
This portfolio comprises three components:
(i) Single authored monograph Figures & Fictions: Contemporary South African Photography, Steidl, V&A, 2011, ISBN978-3-86930-266-9, 312 pages, including essay by Garb (35,000 words) plus interviews/artists statements, conducted/edited by Garb, scholars roundtable, convened and edited by Garb
(ii) Ipad Figures & Fictions: Contemporary South African Photography https://itunes.apple.com/gb/app/figures-fictions/id431158485?mt=8
Containing: Video intro to exhibition by Garb, 7 videos made on location in SA with participating artists, Garb’s audio guide to the installation and audio interview, installation shots, floor plan , plus all the contents of the catalogue,
(iii)Installation shots, dossier of press coverage of the show, Symposium and related events.
Figures & Fictions brought together 17 contemporary South African photographers in an exhibition that foregrounded the range and diversity of figural practices that have emerged in the country since the end of Apartheid. It was the first museum show of its kind in the UK.
The selection favored photographers who engage critically with South Africa’s visual past and use the medium to explore changing notions of identity, agency, sexuality and subjectivity . Works on display ranged from digital to analogue, from black and white to colour, demonstrating a sophisticated photographic culture while illustrating the critical self-consciousness of photographers working now. Figural photography in South Africa is analysed in relation to three genres: ethnography, documentary and portraiture. The catalogue explores these genealogies in detail. It is the first study to do so, positioning contemporary work in relation to historical precedents and drawing out the aesthetic and ethical questions that preoccupy scholars and practitioners today. It also provides a space for dialogue amongst SA artists and scholars and critical debate is built into the project.
