cape listings

Emissaries of an Iconic Religion

Adolphus Opara
Emissaries of an Iconic Religion, n.d.. Exhibition Invitation .

'Emissaries of an Iconic Religion'

Adolphus Opara at Brundyn + Gonsalves

Brundyn+Gonsalves is proud to present a selection from Adolphus Opara’s body of work, Emissaries of an Iconic Religion. This photo-documentary series brings together portraits of traditional Yoruba priests from three different western states in Nigeria.

Emissaries of an Iconic Religion consists of 20 photographic portraits of traditional Yoruba chief priests and priestesses who are considered to be human representatives of the Yoruba Orisha. Directly translating to ‘owners of heads’, the Orisha are thought of as mediators between man and the supernatural. Opara photographs his subjects within their individual contexts, surrounded by their religious regalia. By doing so he imbues them with a sense of dignity and offers an interesting counter to the West’s, often skewed, portrayals of African religion. Emissaries of an Iconic Religion is intended to emphasise the Yoruba religion’s relevance in contemporary society.

Coming from a background in documentary photography, Opara is more inclined towards a journalistic approach and sees the artistic status of his imagery as secondary. Regardless of this stated intent, his photographs are reminiscent of Victorian portraiture and the theatricality often attributed to it.

Adolphus Opara, born 1981 in Nigeria, is a freelance documentary photographer based in Lagos. He has exhibited extensively all over the world and won numerous prizes for his photography.

27 June - 14 August


also showing

Twilight
Matty Roodt

Twilight, 2011; Oil on board

'Seeing Eye'

Various Artists

Brundyn and Gonsalves is pleased to present SeeingEye, a group exhibition exploring the relationship between painting and photography.

The exhibition is  intended to stimulate further debate around the two mediums’ status of representation and value. Spanning from painting that draws on photographic tropes such as blur, pixilation or hyperrealism, through to photographs that directly reference traditional painting subjects or task themselves with exploring the subconscious, SeeingEye offers moments of overlap.

Participating artists: Sanell Aggenbach, Roger Ballen, Zander Blom, Alex Emsley, Matthew Hindley, Karin Preller, Andrew Putter, Matty Roodt and Chad Rossouw.





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