Yinka Shonibare (the South African artist that deals mostly in elaborate, colorful, and beautiful textiles) did a photo series using Fransisco Goya's "The Sleep of Reason Brings Monsters" as the basis to talk about global confusion and hypocricy.
Shonibare produced five photographs real human models are posed to replicate the sitter of Goya's original sketch, while detailed taxidermied animals engulf the backgroud in a way almost identical to its source material. The only fundamental difference between Goya's work and Shonibares is the inscription on the side of the desk. In Goya's peice the text says "The Sleep of Reason Brings Monsters" while in Shonibare's, the text reads differently for each photo. For the continent of Asia, the text reads "Does the sleep of reason produce Monsters in Asia?". This same question is posed to each of the photos with their corresponding represented continent (Africa, America, Europe, Asia, Australia).
Personally, I love the peice... not only does it focus on dreams as the foundation of its imagery, but the idea of taking a sketch of a previous master and bringing it to life in your own way is really fascinating. Here's a pic of the piece the MIA isn't hanging anymore:
http://psimcoe.files.wordpress.com/2009/07/yinka_shonibare_sleep_of_reason_produces_monsters_africa_sothebys_london1.jpg
Glad to hear from you, Josh. I, too enjoy Shonibare's work. It will most likely be back. Can you elaborate on what you feel is Shonibare's intention by replicating the Goya paintings in photographic works - what do you mean by global confusion and hypocrisy? Image?
ReplyDelete