Sergio Valenzuela Escobedo/ Mänk’áčen Artist Book
The Yagan tribe once existed on the islands south of Fuego Island in South America. They called the photo "Toumayacha Alakana". This means ``to look with a veil over one's head,'' and this expression was the origin of Sergio Valenzuela Escobedo's work and led to the completion of his thesis on photography.
In the 19th century, the Fuegians, who saw the first camera with a camera operator who arrived in South America in 1840, gave this name to the act of photography. Why did the local people give this new image/object a name? How was this unknown tool received? What does it mean to be seen with a veil on? Here, a collection of European photographs of the Americas left behind by our ancestors testifies to the country's social and political context in relation to colonialism and "indigenous" communities. The latter has partially lost its cultural, economic and territorial autonomy.
But they are not just about the use of technology, but also the relationship to the knowledge and beliefs that characterize the cultures of these peoples at the "ends of the world," and the conditioning of our views and knowledge of these peoples. It is also a witness to an unprecedented history. A colonial myth was that Native American Indians did not like being photographed, especially because their souls would be taken away, and this Western belief has given rise to a sense of value in the images brought back by explorers. Ta. In reality, the issue of camera refusal is much more complex and wide-ranging. . Resistance can be about filming, about the circulation of self-image, about the one-sidedness of transactions, about misunderstandings about the camera, and about political and psychological consequences.
Mänk'áčen ('shadow hunter' in Yagan) presents the research work of artist/researcher/curator Sérgio Valenzuela Escobedo and draws on folklore archives to explore 'mysterious mechanisms'. It demonstrates the thesis of existence.
This work is an original hand-bound artist book released in November 2022. Saddle stitch machine binding is used instead of leporello, and an American dust jacket decorated with cyanotype is included. The last page features an original camera advertisement from the 1980s.
"Artist Interview: Sergio Valenzuela Escobedo"
Publisher: Palais Books
Publication year: 2023
Number of pages pages: 20
Size: 340x 240mm
Format: Softcover, American Dust Jacket, Singer Binding
Language: French English Spanish
Accessories:
Condition: New
Limited Edition of 5 Copies