david lachapelle: the rape of africa

‘the rape of africa’, 2010 image © david lachapelle

‘the rape of africa’ robilant + voena gallery, london april 27- june 23, 2010

‘the rape of africa’ is the first london exhibition by david lachapelle. here the photographer puts on standby his fashion editorial work and redirects his focus on fine arts and celebrity portraits. drawing from various models in art history, he recreates these iconic scenes with celebrity characters.f urther info on his decision to change professional paths from commercial fashion photography to art can be read here.

‘it happened quickly. In a year, I had gone from being really in love with everything I was doing to starting to question everything I was doing. after finishing ‘rize’, all these things came to completion. ‘artists and prostitutes‘ came out, which was the taschen anthology of everything I’ve ever done, and, at the same time, the third edition of the trilogy ‘lachapelle, heaven to hell’. there was this real ending. and I thought, I’ve got nothing left to say in the arena of fashion. as I got older, my themes became more difficult for magazines to digest, and it just seemed like the time to quit… I was confronted with the idea that my themes were not palatable for fashion magazines any longer. I was hitting a wall. I was working just to pay for ‘rize’. – DL on his career change

naomi campbell as the african venus

‘the rape of africa’ is an open criticism of western consumerism and its consequences on africa. making reference to the classic sandro botticelli’s venus and mars painting, the scene is recaptured using model naomi campbell as the african venus. under the themes of conquest and looting, imagery of child soldiers and visuals of illegal mining of gold and diamonds are integrated into his photograph.

detail image © david lachapelle image courtesy of david desanctis gallery

‘I visited the national gallery and began looking at botticelli’s venus and mars. I wasn’t in love with botticelli in the way i was in love with michelangelo, but i saw this painting and was so excited by its personification of the gods in a figurative way. having people represent war, greed, love and beauty, and the fact that they were post-coitus, seemed incredible. it occurred to me that the painting could be contemporary; the ideas in it still seemed so relevant today; as fast moving as our world is, we haven’t progressed with our morality or spirituality.

‘anointing’, jesus is my homeboy series, 2008 image © david lachapelle

the use of africa in my photograph is about it being the cradle of civilization, the idea of mother earth and mother africa. the production of gold in africa is destroying both the society and the country itself but continues because of our obsession in the west. the human suffering and the cost to the environment are incalculable. we are degrading our mother and we are raping mother earth in our quest for financial security, but while doing so we are ensuring our own insecurity.’ DL, on his concept behind ‘the rape of africa’ for a more indepth look at lachapelle’s discussion on his current exhibition, see here.

‘evidence of a miraculous event’, jesus is my homeboy series, 2008 image © david lachapelle

in addition to the ‘rape of africa’ print, six pieces from the series ‘jesus is my homeboy’ are included as part of his exhibition. here stereotyped imagery of unlawful multi-ethnic youth groups are contrasted against a merciful christ, thus, continuing his statements on themes of commodification and consumer society.

‘loaves and fishes’, jesus is my homeboy series, 2008 image © david lachapelle

the exhibition also features his well recognized celebrity portraits along with number of watercolors, sketches and collages showcasing his process work and creative thoughts.

david lachapelle was born in fairfield, connecticut in 1963. his origins in photography began at the age of six after taking a photograph of his mother during a vacation in puerto rico. he studied at the north carolina school of the arts, arts student league (NYC) and the school of visual arts (NYC). andy warhol gave him his first job at interview, and from 1987, he has been working as a professional fashion photographer for magazines such as details, vanity fair, rolling stone, vogue, the face, and others. he has also made music videos and a documentary film titled ‘rize’ in 2004. his photographs have been presented in several museum shows: at the kunsthaus, vienna (2002), the barbican gallery, london (2003), the MALBA museum, buenos aires, argentina (2007), the helmut newton foundation, berlin (2007), and the palazzo reale, milan (2007). david lachapelle currently lives and works in los angeles and hawaii.

david lachapelle (7)