Provenance

Property of a Collector.

Notes

“What amazed me was that everyone knew how to ‘model’ a gun, how to dress, how to stand, what poses a rebel or soldier or general strikes. The UN estimates that there are more than five hundred million small arms in circulation around the world. More than seventy million of those are estimated to be AK-47's"¹

^1. Artsy, The Rendon Gallery, online, https://www.artsy.net/artwork/ralph-ziman-togil, accessed 12 August 2024.

Ralph Ziman’s artistic practice is driven by a sense of social responsibility with work that takes on multifaceted new-media approaches. His work, characterised by vivid yet somber imagery, addresses critical issues such as South Africa's Apartheid history and the African arms trade. ¹

In a notable body of work, Ziman collaborated with six Zimbabwean artists to create beaded replicas of AK-47's, machine guns and ammunition, using traditional African beads and wire. These intricately beaded sculptures, along with individuals in Ethiopia, became central in this work. The project highlighted a startling familiarity with the representation of weapons - their appearance, the way people dress and pose as rebels, soldiers, or generals. With over five hundred million small arms estimated to be in circulation worldwide, including more than seventy million AK-47's, and recognising that small arms cause ninety percent of war casualties, eighty percent of which are civilians, Ziman’s work, Ghosts, seeks to illuminate the unseen traffickers and the anonymous victims of this complex crisis.²

^1. Ralph Ziman, About, online, https://ralphziman.com/about/, accessed 12 August 2024.

^2. Artsy, The Rendon Gallery, online, https://www.artsy.net/artwork/ralph-ziman-togil, accessed 12 August 2024.