As Witkiewicz
2009
Archival black-and-white photographs, various sizes (each approx. 19 x 12cm)
In 1914, the Polish artist Stanislaw Witkiewicz was invited by his
childhood friend, the anthropologist Bronislaw Malinowski, to join him
on a fieldwork expedition in New Guinea, in order to act as his
draftsman and photographer. However, upon arriving in Australia, they
argued about how to respond to the recent break-out of WWI, and
Witkiewicz left for Europe to fight; Malinowski stayed and continued
his researches, which are now considered seminal works in social
anthropology.
In May 2009, I travelled to Kiriwina (formerly known as the Trobriand Islands) off the coast of Papua New Guinea, where Malinowski conducted his most famous fieldwork. Here, I made a series of photographs 'as Witkiewicz', in what might be considered a rather elaborate form of performance. This series is part of a larger project, 'Given', which has been commissioned by the National Maritime Museum, and will be exhibited there from September 2009–January 2010.
In May 2009, I travelled to Kiriwina (formerly known as the Trobriand Islands) off the coast of Papua New Guinea, where Malinowski conducted his most famous fieldwork. Here, I made a series of photographs 'as Witkiewicz', in what might be considered a rather elaborate form of performance. This series is part of a larger project, 'Given', which has been commissioned by the National Maritime Museum, and will be exhibited there from September 2009–January 2010.