I recently posted about the proposed development of the Burrup Peninsula in Western Australia to exploit mining oppoortunities which would mean the destruction of priceless Aboriginal art. Thakfully, the WA government has seen the light and will no longer oppose the heritage listing of an area in the Dampier Archipelago, which will save some of the oldest art in the world on the Burrup Peninsula in Western Australia.
A proposed multi million dollar liquefied natural gas processing plant would have destroyed the thousands of aboriginal paintings and rock carvings throughout the region. The company that would have managed the plant (Woodside Petroleum) has now also dropped its opposition to the heritage listing, in return for a 6.8 square kilometer area to create a "gas precinct".
Chris Humphreys’ strangely beautiful paintings depict a border world in which nature gets caught up and mixes with fantasy and reality.
His first solo show Woodland Chicken World at Transition Gallery in London England enhances this sense of mystery with a touch of exotic orientalism to give his new paintings of common or garden birds an aristocratic grace.Influenced by Chinoiserie, a centuries-old decorative style based on highly embellished and exaggerated Chinese design, Humphreys’ sets his birds (most particularly chickens) in an intricate, ornamental world of paint.
Facts, Fictions and Stories’ is the first solo exhibition in The Netherlands for Adam Broomberg (South Africa, b. 1979) and Oliver Chanarin (Great Britain, b. 1971). Stedelijk Museum CS presents two impressive projects by this pair of photographers, totalling more than 70 large-format photographs. Their most recent work, ‘Chicago’ (2006), shows various aspects of the war and propaganda in Israel. The series ‘Mr. Mkhize’s Portrait’ (2004) casts a glance at South Africa ten years after the end of apartheid.
The photographs (generally portraits) are combined with texts and interviews, and give us a convincing picture of the social changes and complexity of daily life in that country. Both projects are not only striking examples of photo reportage, but also make an important contribution to the discussions within documentary photography. The exhibition ‘Facts, Fictions and Stories’ opens on Thursday, November 9, at 5:00 p.m. in Stedelijk Museum CS, and runs through February 25, 2007.
Harry
Tash Jayasinghe
Dexter
Cibbuano
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