SLEEP WITH THE FISHES
2019-07-15Sleep with the Fishes, that explores the formal repetitions and shared motifs of fish in both historical and contemporary photography. Fish have been the subject of art throughout history, beginning in ‘primitive’ art from many cultures. In ancient civilizations of the West, fish were a continuous depiction of an important food source. As time went on, fish began to hold more symbolic meanings, such as in the Hellenistic period they were known to represent a divine source of life.
Decorative fish designs of the Greeks and Romans were often tied to mythological significance and later adopted by early Christians as religious symbols. Fish markets became important cultural trade centers and destinations for wealthy tourists who made the Grand Tour of Europe to view the roots of western civilization, such as the Roman Fish Market, Arch of Octavius, portrayed by German painter Albert Bierstadt in 1858. Nearly a century later, Walker Evans captured a Fish Market Near Birmingham, Alabama in 1936, taken while working for the Farm Security Administration (FSA) photography program with the goal of documenting and reporting the plight of Americans during the Great Depression.
Opposite – Alex Webb, Iquitos Festival, Peru. From the Series: Amazon, 1993
Exhibition runs through to August 16th, 2019
Robert Mann Gallery
525 West 26th Street, Floor 2
New York
10001 NY
