Notes

Archivally framed with non-reflective museum glass

Many Europeans were shipwrecked along the 'Wild Coast' of South Africa in the 1600s and 1700s. Most fled or perished, but a handful were taken in by local Xhosa-speaking communities. Some of these European castaways formed deep ties with their African hosts, learning the language, marrying into the tribe, and dying as Africans.
Andrew Putter’s portrayal of these real characters is clearly fictional yet he is careful to work within the space of the historically possible. Many of the adornments (both African and European) that appear on the models were sourced from important collections, and the choices of hairstyles, fabrics, flowers and plants were the result of research, collaboration and consultation with experts.
Although the adornments and landscape are largely south-east African, the poses, compositions and lighting are heavily indebted to 18th-century English painting. Through the interplay of dissimilar cultures, Putter proposes that it is possible for new forms to emerge.
http://www.stevenson.info/exhibitions/putter/african_hospitality.htm

Exhibited

Michael Stevenson, Cape Town, Summer 2009/10 Projects: Andrew Putter, African Hospitality Series, 26 November 2009 - 16 January 2010