SEE THE WORLD IN BLACK AND WHITE AT THIS EXHIBITION
Kathmandu Photo Gallery is hosting “You Don’t Have To Be Black To Be Outraged”, a photographic exhibition by Bangkok-based British artist Justin Mills from Saturday to June 26.
As a tribute to George Floyd’s ghastly death at the hands of a white police officer in Minneapolis last May, the exhibition features a series of photo montages that incorporate placards from demonstrations during last year’s global protests, together with screenshots from four films dealing with racism in the US.
They include Do The Right Thing (1989) directed by Spike Lee, Selma (2014) by Ava DuVernay, Moonlight (2016) by Barry Jenkins and I Am Not Your Negro (2016) by Raoul Peck.
Significant scenes are selected from photographs and films, divided into upper-lower/positive-negative and then small ovals are stamped out of the composite photographs, mostly around the subtitles revealing a negative version of the image behind.
His choice of black and white reflects the colour issue and by dividing each image in two, he emphasises their complementary quality to highlight the fact that each opposite exists because of the other. There is no white without black and vice versa. This is the scientific fact of photography and of the real world.
Made in support of the Black Lives Matter social justice movement, the series comprises 16 works — 15 archival ink on aluminium (limited edition of three each) and one archival ink on matte paper (limited edition of nine). All the works are for sale and 20% of the proceeds will be donated to the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund in the US.
Kathmandu Photo Gallery is located on Pan Road (near the Indian Temple), Silom, and opens Tuesday to Saturday from 11am to 6pm.