Le Journal de la Photographie Interviews Jim Naughten

In today's issue of Le Journal de la Photographie, Miss Rosen interviews Jim Naughten about his acclaimed new series of photographs, depicting the Herero people of Namibia. His exhibition, here at the gallery, opens in two days. It's installed, and we don't mind saying that it looks rather magnificant!

"Costume. How we define ourselves when we stand upon the world’s stage and read from the scripts we draft. In donning an ensemble, we assume a posture, an attitude, an aesthetic that we accept as how we see ourselves, and how we wish to be seen. Costume can shape identity the way the corset shapes a woman’s waist. It can take hold and command a sense of respect, of pride, and of purpose, and in this way it can become the most subversive thing on earth".–Miss Rosen, March 2013.

“I see the clothes as symbolic of survival and strength, but particularly of a kind of defiance. In that sense, they are heroic. The taking and wearing of their enemies clothing is considered a way of absorbing and diminishing their power. They march and drill after the German fashion of the period, and ride horseback with extraordinary skill (horses were introduced by the settlers). To me the Herero are undiminished and have an extraordinary grace and presence”. –Jim Naughten

 

Screen grab from Le Journal de la Photographie ©Le Journal de la Photographie 2011