Canny inverse

The canny part of the way in which this uncanny agglomeration(see post below) of objects presents itself is in the red of the pool table's felt: it's the precise inverse of perfect pool table green in the additive colour model.

When I saw this scene I thought of my delirious, drunken days at the University Club pool table I felt blue.

Cairo

I was invited to speak at a conference, on African Urbanism, in Cairo.

Amongst the heavies were Abdoumaliq Simone(urban theorist) and Filip de Boeck(anthropologist).

I presented my thoughts on some ethical problems associated with photographing strangers in a city, and a method of photographing cities which gives a sense of the way in which people move through urban space.

After the conference finished I walked Cairo...

The woman with her kid lives in an area called the 'City of the Dead'

I know her name, but I don't know how to spell it. Once I have a good translation I will post it.

Enjin Magazine.

Thank you Enjin Magazine.

http://www.reportageatrifestival.it/it/

Federica Angelucci of the Michael Stevenson Gallery has invited me to be a part of the show mentioned at the URL above.

It opens in mid-June, runs for 2 months and is held in Abruzzo, Italy.

The 'Handbags' have been included. Seven works, each at 70 cm in diameter, printed on uncoated paper and mounted on circular aluminum discs.

It's an interesting inclusion under the problematic banner of 'documentary', but I guess it will stand out amongst straighter forms of documentary photography.

The titles specify the name of the bag owner, the colour(from a pack of paint swatches) which the owner chose as the background and the date on which the photograph was made.

eg. Simone, Lush Bog, 5.12.2009

The Big Banana Bet

I was recently privy to a wager($25 000). The question on which the bet was founded was... it possible to reconstitute a peeled banana in less than 10 seconds?

In order to prove that this is possible I devised a mechanism to capture very fast motion.

Here are the results.

I am not the first person to use fancy photography to get rich. The first photographer to do it was Eadweard Muybridge.

His work was about small parts of hard-to-see actions. The narrative structure of his work was dissimilar(and strangely post-modern) to the banana series. The relationship between scenes in Muybridge's work is dissolved and each frame has its own distinct dramaturgy. In the BBB there is a distinct succession of productive actions leading to a happy finale which is justified by my friend Kilian's expressive succession.

ICON MAGAZINE spreads

Wicked. Here are the spreads.

Ponte, and Cape Town.

ICON MAGAZINE

The famous design rag from London asked me to photograph the city and include the controversial stadium. There they are, arranged neatly for das Camera.

I needed some sense of scale in the middle ground, so when an unsuspecting dog walker cruised past I gave her the large-format crash course.

'When I whistle depress this stalk, ok?'
'Ok'

Don't believe the hype. Large format is a piece of piss.

My dog is there as well. Looking back at the camera, returning the 'mechanised gaze' of the big boner camera which is shafting the entire city bowl.

Cressida is a woman dog so everything will be fine.

Ponte Tower

Since I began to take heed of SA photographic culture, and what the newspapers detailed, I have been aware of Ponte Towers. The dark column has a long been used as a speaker through which to tell of Johannesburg's ills.

I was commissioned by Das Magazine to work there for 3 days.

It's been sanitised and is a pretty pleasant place in which to work if you do not mind heights.

The towers have been photographed as nauseam and are a cliche nowadays. I am much happier with the portraits I made, than I am with the structural work.

...and this.

I am on it. What does this mean?

The press release and the work in question:

1. 1910-2010: From Pierneef to Gugulective

Opens 15 April until mid-September

This large exhibition, which occupies the entire Gallery, showcases the history and diversity of modern and contemporary South African art from the time of the formation of the Union of South Africa a century ago to the present.

The exhibition covers the period when modern South African art started to articulate itself in relation to the rest of the world. The selection, primarily from the Iziko South African National Gallery permanent collection is supplemented by works on loan from other public and corporate collections around the country. Audiences can look forward to modern gems and rare treasures by Gerard Sekoto, Irma Stern, George Pemba, Maggie Laubser, Gerard Bhengu, JH Pierneef, Durant Sihlali and Dumile Feni. The exhibition acknowledges important developments in local art history such as Polly Street, Rorke’s Drift, DRUM magazine,
Resistance Art, and the rise of South Africa’s energetic contemporary art scene.

A rare overview of South African art. Don’t miss it!

theviewer.fr

A polite Frenchman call Yann Linsart has contacted me and wants to publish my N1 series on his www called theviewer.fr.

Thank you Yann.

Palomino again.

I am in the Palomino motel listening to NICO and reconciling myself with the decision to avoid the work which I need to do. I travelled(drove) 800 kms on my own, it's okay to have reconciliatory thoughts.

NICO has such a crap voice, but her delivery is so sincere. The pan flutes in the background give the sense of a short, bright, white flash.

Track 7 is fucking great. 'Ev reeee body will help yooo, some people are very kind...'

'Come on, give it to me....'