%C2%A9 Stephen Dupont
Raskols, 2004
Stephen Dupont; Publisher: Stephen Dupontexpand_more
Gelatin silver prints, ink on paper, with hand-coloring; accordion-fold volumeexpand_more
Gift of funds from the Print and Drawing Curatorial Councilexpand_more 2007.7.1
Not on Viewexpand_more
Stephen Dupont is an internationally acclaimed, award-winning Australian photojournalist, and filmmaker whose work centers on global changes caused by war, violence, and other social and cultural upheavals. Dupont's self-published artist's book Raskols documents Papua New Guinean youth in crisis--men and boys who have turned to crime, violence, and anarchy in a bid to survive within a gang-dominated urban social order.
In 2004, Dupont befriended members of a raskol (gang) in order to document the individuals behind the facelessness of gang warfare. His compelling book offers an extensive series of portraits of members of the Kips Kaboni (Red Devils), the largest and oldest of the numerous street gangs active in the capital city of Port Moresby.
Using a Polaroid instant camera, Dupont photographed gang members as they chose to be seen. His images are at once mesmerizing and unsettling, particularly from the perspective of outsiders, who may at first see only the spectacle of gang members posing as armed and dangerous "criminal heroes." To counter such self-glorification, Dupont inserts brief hand-written texts citing Port Moresby's annual crime statistics, a potent reminder of the human cost of violence.
Details
- Title
- Raskols
- Artist Life
- born 1967
- Role
- Artist
- Accession Number
- 2007.7.1
- Provenance
- The artist; [Booklyn Artists Alliance, New York]; sold to MIA, 2007.
- Curator Approved
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© Stephen Dupont