STAN DOUGLAS – DISCO ANGOLA
2013-12-02The works in Disco Angola are all dated from 1974 or 1975, a pivotal moment in the history of global political economy: the Bretton Woods monetary regime had collapsed, the 1973 oil crisis was just abating, global markets were enduring the worst crash since the great Depression and the rapprochement between the US and the Soviet Union was breaking down. New York was a city on the verge of bankruptcy and the burgeoning disco scene offers Douglas’ protagonist respite from the gritty realities of day-to-day life.
The exhibition presents six works from the series, three based in Angola and three in New York. Each large-scale colour photograph is arranged in a pair that face each other on opposing walls. Douglas researched archival photographs, and meticulously reproduced period costumes and furnishings in his sets. In some images, staged scenes feature precisely choreographed gestures that hint at the relative relationships between characters. In others, props and décor provide clues to the geographic and historic context.
The photographs in the series combine the look of photojournalism with careful staging and composition. By re-imagining scenes from particular historical moments, Douglas invites the viewer to challenge assumptions about the veracity of the photographic image, and particularly to call into question documentary’s relationship to objective truth.
Exhibition runs through to December 15th, 2013
Victoria Miro
16 Wharf ROAD
London
N1 7RW
