Guebehi and Sidibé at Jack Shainman
by Joost O. Bosland
The African avant-garde (or the group of African artists popularly perceived as such) has certain commercial galleries in New York that regularly show its work. The Axis Gallery is the most well-known with regard to South African art in particular, but Jack Shainman has also been persistently presenting artists from the continent, alongside its American regiment, for quite some time. Claudette Schreuders, Zwelethu Mthethwa and Samuel Fosso have all had exhibitions there.
A show of works by Emile Guebehi and Malick Sidibé seemed like enough of a reason to head to Shainman. Sidibé is a Malian photographer who has been extremely successful on the global stage. In fact, one would be hard-pressed to find a recent exhibition of African photography without his work: 'In/sight,' 'The Short Century,' 'Flash Afrique!' - you name it. Emile Guebehi did not immediately ring a bell with yours truly, but it turned out I had seen his work before too.
Both artists are 73 years old, but that is pretty much where the similarity ends. Guebehi is a sculptor from Abidjan, Ivory Coast and Sidibé is a photographer based in Bamako, Mali.
The work by Sidibé fits in two quite distinct categories. The first comprises a considerable number of vintage photographs; all taken in the freshly post-colonial Mali of the sixties and seventies. These are the images Sidibé is famous for: studio portraits taken in his legendary 'Studio Malick,' as well as snapshots from the vibrant Bamako nightlife.
The images are grouped in several large circles on the gallery walls, each picture elaborately framed in hand-painted glass. With some imagination, a loose theme seems to hold each circle together.
The way in which the many photographs document life and reflect identity construction in independent Mali reminds me of Santu Mofokeng's ongoing project 'The Black Photo Album/Look at Me'. The notable difference is, though, that all of the images at the Shainman are taken and developed by Sidibé himself.
The second category of Sidibé's work on show embodies a shift in his approach to photography. In 2003, he photographed the backs of a series of women, still in black and white. Perhaps influenced by my recent visit to the MOMA, I could not help notice the affinity with a series of four casts Matisse once did, titled Back I-IV.
Just like in the works by Matisse, Sidibé's exploration of the female figure from behind goes beyond the literal. The studio floor and background are each lined with a different African fabric. The women also wear batiks, some even two different motifs, leaving each individual picture looking like an abstract work consisting of semi-geometrical shapes with contrasting patterns.
The New York audience appears quite enthusiastic about his new aesthetic: many of the photographs have been sold, at a sweet R30 000 each. I noticed that no indication of edition size was given, and after inquiry found out that Sidibé does not use the edition system. Buyers did not seem to have a problem with his approach, which forces one to ask if the Western edition concept, so heavily entrenched in the art economy, still has a place in today's globalised art world.
The sculptures of women by Guebehi stand spread out through the gallery, surrounded by Sidibé images. They are carved from coconut palm wood, painted with enamel, and are for the most part life-size. Many of the women are almost naked, and their forms are eerily reminiscent of the colonially hypersexualised black female; one can almost feel the presence of Sara Baartman and Josephine Baker in the rooms.
Two of Guebehi's most successful works, however, go beyond the simple theme of the mythical black female body. One is a larger-than-life sculpture set, depicting a man threatening to kill a light-skinned baby with a dagger. A figure, presumably his wife, observes the scene. Implied by the tableau is that the man sees the baby as proof of a liaison between his wife and a white man.
The look in the eyes of the wife is a mixture of horror and love, as she realises her husband is in just as much pain as she is. With its subtlety, the work draws attention to the extended implications of colonial gender dynamics, which are not limited to the sexual encounter itself.
The second Guebehi sculpture that I want to single out is one of a proud, fully-clothed woman. The image reproduced alongside this review does not do it justice; it is a manifestation of the power of African women, and as such a welcome counterpoint to the Baartmanesque sculptures in the rest of the gallery.
An art critic for the New York Times wrote that the works on show look like those of a 'self-trained artisan'. Sidibé has many years of art training on his resumé, and I cannot begin to understand on what the disdainful qualification is based with regard to the photographer. While Guebehi uses elements of a tradition that is often typified as craft, I can't help but wonder if the critic would have written the same about Claudette Schreuders, whose sculptures draw on similar traditions.
Jack Shainman has once again proven to be a great advocate of African art in the City. Too bad the local press isn't equally enlightened. Regardless, if I see more shows like this in my remaining months in New York, I will consider myself a blessed man
Closes February 7
Jack Shainman Gallery
513 West 20th Street, New York
