DAK'ART 2012 — archive entry documenting Paul Emmanuel’s participation and work. Number 05000674PV , 2009. Manière noire stone lithograph, hand printed, hand coloured, signed, numbered and dated by the artist. Black lithographic ink and watercolour pigment on 285 gsm Fabriano Rosaspina Avorio paper. 80 x 156 cm. Edition 35. Courtesy of Art Source South Africa DAK'ART 2012, Biennale of Contemporary African Art, Museum Theodore Monod, Dakar, Senegal, 11 May – 10 June 2012 CURATORS: Christine EYENE, Nadira LAGGOUNE, Riason NAIDOO THEME: "CONTEMPORARY CREATION AND SOCIAL DYNAMICS" The tenth edition of the biennale is held in a particular context. Indeed, 2012 is an electoral year in Senegal as was 2000. This year also marks the twentieth birthday of the most former biennale of the African continent. DAK'ART is maintained as a key event in the international art calendar. The theme chosen for this edition is expected to examine through various angles the dialogue that contemporary artists maintain with a social environment which is in constant mutation. Contemporary creation and social dynamics, is a field of investigation which academics, art critics and artists are invited to explore in the context of the meetings and exchanges of the edition 2012 of the Biennale. number 05000674PV (2009) was selected by the curators for this exhibition. Related content Exhibition ‘Transitions Multiples’, 2011 Exhibition ‘Transitions Multiples’, 2011 Publication ‘Transitions Multiples’, 2011 Publication ‘Transitions Multiples’, 2011 ←Previous Next→

Return to Thiepval — archive entry documenting Paul Emmanuel’s participation and work. Exhibition view of Return to Thiepval: Imprinting and Erasing Memories of the First World War , Alliance Française, Johannesburg Return to Thiepval: Imprinting and Erasing Memories of the First World War , Alliance Française, Johannesburg and Cape Town, South Africa, 11 and 21 November 2014 A presentation of Paul Emmanuel's project The Lost Men France (2014), accompanied by Bill Nasson's historical contribution was held on Tuesday 11 November 2014 at 18h00 for 18h30 at The Alliance Française, Johannesburg and on the 21 November at the Alliance Française, Cape Town. Bill Nasson is a Professor in the History Department at Stellenbosch University. He specialises in the history of war and society and his works have been translated into Dutch, German, French and Italian. His new book, World War I and the People of South Africa is due for release in November this year. Related content Counter-memorial ‘The Lost Men France’, 1 July – 1 October 2014 ←Previous Next→

Regards: Photographie Camerounaise / Digital Africa — archive entry documenting Paul Emmanuel’s participation and work. Still from 3SAI: A Rite of Passage , 2008. High-Definition, single-channel video, stereo soundtrack, 13 min 58 sec Regards: Photographie Camerounaise / Digital Africa – Casablanca Biennale Internationale de Casablanca Project Space, Morocco. 18 April – 15 June 2019 Organised as part of the 5th Biennale Internationale de Casablanca 2020 incubation programme, with events planned in Casablanca throughout 2019 and 2020, this showcase brought together established and emerging practitioners working across photography, video and installation. Digital Africa – Casablanca featured video works by: Hakeem Adam (Ghana), Driss Aroussi (Morocco/France), Wendinagegn Belete (Ethiopia/Norway), Paul Emmanuel (Soudh Africa), Badr El Hammami (Morocco/France), Khireddine Khaldoun (Algeria), Mohammed Amine Al Makouti (Morocco), Mahlôt Sansosa (Brazil/Tanzania), Yvon Ngassam (Cameroon), Marton Robinson (Costa Rica), Leandré le Roux (South Africa) and Carly Whitaker (South Africa). Remember-dismember and 3SAI: A Rite of Passage (2008) were selected by curator Christine Eyene, for this exhibition. Related content Short film ‘3SAI: A Rite of Passage’, 2008 Intervention ‘Rising-falling’, 2021 ←Previous Next→

In Plain Sight — archive entry documenting Paul Emmanuel’s participation and work. The Lost Men France 4 , 2014. Pigment printed photograph on archival paper. 42 x 108 cm. Edition 5 In Plain Sight: Social Life in South Africa and Romania Before and After 1989 , ApARTe Gallery of George Enescu University of Arts & Borderline Art Space, Iasi, Romania 25 November – 8 December 2016 The nineties were a turning point for countries in the former Eastern European bloc and for South African society. While Romanian society underwent violent changes of the political regime in the transition from socialism to a primarily savage form of capitalism, South Africa embarked on the road leading to the end of apartheid in 1994. The new dispensation was marked by the jubilation of the Rainbow Nation and the African Renaissance as vehicles to grapple with the social constructions of identities in a ‘new’ South Africa. Exploring the capacity of the photographic medium to capture and reproduce ordinary views of daily life and to transform habitual ways of looking at these images, thus releasing their implicit political potentialities, the current exhibition presents for the first time in Romania, a selection of contemporary photography from South Africa, set in dialogue with Romanian artists who employ the medium of photography to investigate recent, small scale social processes and transformations. While South African artists are critically addressing issues related to race, ethnicity, class and gender, constructing micro-cartographies of civil and economic disposession, Romanian artists are more poetically involved in the exploration of lines of fracture in collective memory, social marginality and precarious economies. The curators selected The Lost Men France IV (2004) for this exhibition. Artists: Omar Badsha (SA), Matei Bejenaru (RO), Tanisha Bhana (SA), Reshma Chhiba (SA), Claudiu Cobilanschi (RO), Paul Emmanuel (SA), Lebohang Kganye (SA), Iosif Kiraly (RO), Andrei Nacu (RO), Cedric Nunn (SA), Dumitru Oboroc (RO). Curators: Cristian Nae (RO) and Judy Peter (SA). Related content Counter-memorial ‘The Lost Men France’, 1 July – 1 October 2014 ←Previous Next→

MICA Grad Show 3 — archive entry documenting Paul Emmanuel’s participation and work. Installation view of Untethered (2024) in the main court at Maryland Institute College of Art, Baltimore, MD, USA. Decommissioned, model T-10, U.S. military personnel parachute with severed suspension lines, detached harness with risers, 550 para-cord. High-definition video projection, stereo soundtrack, 7 min 26 sec. Parachute diameter: 35 feet. Harness dimensions: 30 x 30 inches (excluding suspension lines) MICA Grad Show 3 , Maryland Institute College of Art, Baltimore, Maryland, USA, 12 – 28 April 2024 The thesis exhibition of final year, graduate students enrolled in the Mount Royal School of Art (Multidisciplinary MFA) program, curated by Professor Luca Buvoli. Including works by Sanah Brown-Bowers, Meg Clerc, Paul Emmanuel, Trisha Gupta, Yuanwei Huang, Teddi Kabler, William Okaily, Grusha Sabharwal, Erhan Us and Jeehee Yoo. Untethered (2024) was featured in this exhibition. Artist statement At present, the United States finances, trains and arms soldiers in the Lebanese Armed Forces. My mixed European/Lebanese heritage has compelled me to spend the last two years interviewing retired and active-duty Lebanese and U.S. soldiers deployed to the ‘Middle East’ region. In these conversations, I was struck by each soldier’s account of the camaraderie between ‘battle buddies’ and surprised that the older veterans spoke of a profound sense of loss when returning to civilian life. This traumatic experience of detachment resonated strongly with me when a U.S. paratrooper gave me his parachute. He recounted how he had acquired it after retiring from active duty in 2008, only to discover that all 30 of its suspension lines had been severed. The accompanying two original drawings comprise a ‘foot portrait’ of a U.S. paratrooper and a ‘hand portrait’ of a Lebanese active-duty infantryman. Both men cannot be identified for various reasons, but I was driven to record the intimacy of our conversations in some way. They both allowed me to photograph and draw their feet and hands, so as to protect their anonymity. Each image is scratched by hand with a steel blade into a dark background, on a piece of cotton rag. The U.S. paratrooper’s feet are scratched into a layer of black boot polish because to this day, airborne troops still buff their black leather, ceremonial ‘jump boots’ using these materials to signify excellence and professionalism. The Lebanese infantryman’s hands however, are scratched into a layer of gunpowder residue from an M16 assault rifle and ammunition supplied by the United States. Acknowledgements Luis Rosa Valentin, Dan Kasza, Carlos Muños, Katinka Hooyer, Hannah Challita, Suzanne Challita, Carine Challita, Anthony Emmanuel and Peter Emmanuel. To my parents Related content Civic engagement project ‘The Veteran’s Memorial to the Living’ (ongoing) Civic engagement project ‘Talking With Monuments: Veteran Dialogues on Remembering’, 2024 – 2026 Interview Mount Holyoke College, 2024 Counter-memorial ‘The Lost Men France’, 1 July – 1 October 2014 ←Previous Next→

“Touch me” — archive entry documenting Paul Emmanuel’s participation and work. “Touch me” , 2013, Digital program, high Definition, single-channel digital video, touch-sensitive screen, stereo soundtrack “Touch me” (South Africa – France Seasons 2012-2013). Le Cube, Issy-les-Moulineaux, Paris, France, 1 – 30 October 2013 Exploring the concepts of memory & memorial, “Touch me” (2013) is a digital, touch-sensitive, video and sound artwork created by Paul Emmanuel. It is a non-partisan complement to his The Lost Men France planned for the 2014-18 Centenary of World War One. “Touch me” portrays a progression of closely-cropped, video vignettes of Emmanuel's body either fully exposed or clothed in historic and contemporary military regalia or in formal corporate attire. A soundtrack of the artist's voice invites the viewer to touch the ‘sensitive screen’ or ‘skin’, provoking the enrobing and disrobing of different areas of his body, revealing and concealing his skin temporarily branded with the names of casualties of armed-conflict. These fleeting impressions fade or re-appear as the viewer continues touching – evoking a repeated ‘healing’ or ‘re-wounding’ of the skin. “Touch me” depicts the names of both black and white South African First World War servicemen, pressed into the artist’s body alongside those of the Allies and Germans. Further unveilings also reveal South Africa's involvement in The Second World War, Korean War, Angolan Bush War, the 2012 Marikana Miner's Massacre and the 2013 Central African Republic Conflict. The exhibition of “Touch me” (2013) at Le Cube is organised as part of the South Africa-France Seasons 2012 – 13. Related content Video artwork ‘Remember-dismember’, 2015 Exhibition ‘Remnants’, 25 June – 31 July 2015 ←Previous Next→

In Uncertainty We Trust — archive entry documenting Paul Emmanuel’s participation and work. Untethered-retethered , decommissioned, model T-10, US military personnel parachute with severed suspension lines, carabiners, nylon thread, 550 paracord. Four stereo sound tracks: (Carlos: 3 min 23 sec), (Dan: 3 min 36 sec), (Jake: 3 min 26 sec) and (Luis: 3 min 35 sec). Each looped. Parachute diameter: 1,067 cm (35 feet). Installation size: variable. In Uncertainty We Trust , Sheila and Richard Riggs and Leidy galleries, Maryland Institute College of Art, Baltimore, Maryland, USA, 27 September – 13 October 2023 The fall exhibition of graduate students enrolled in the Mount Royal School of Art (Multidisciplinary MFA) program, curated by Professor Luca Buvoli. Including works by Aura Wang, Daniel Katz-Hernandez, Dooree Kang, Elicia Aceves, Huxley Green, Natalie Jenkins, Shuyi Chen, Siyi Cao, Sanah Brown-Bowers, Meg Clerc, Paul Emmanuel, Trisha Gupta, Yuanwei Huang, Teddi Kabler, William Okaily, Grusha Sabharwal, Erhan Us and Jeehee Yoo. Untethered-retethered (2023) was selected for this exhibition. Related content Civic engagement project ‘The Veteran's Memorial to the Living’ (ongoing) Exhibition ‘MICA Grad Show 3’, 27 September – 13 October 2024 ←Previous Next→

Weerberig – Weather report — archive entry documenting Paul Emmanuel’s participation and work. A farm road, Somme , 2013 Original drawing, hand-incised into exposed colour photographic paper, 49 x 130 cm. Private Collection Weerberig – Weather report , Aardklop National Arts Festival, Potchefstroom, South Africa, 24 – 29 September 2013 “Our landscape is not an eternal constant, it is mutable, constantly changing and being re-negotiated. In South Africa we have our very specific history to contend with. Land, ownership and national identity is integral to any understanding of the South African landscape. How did we and how do we posit emotion and meaning onto the landscape? Ours is a fraught history and land issues still play an important, often divisive role in our current social and political space. This year marks the 100th anniversary of the Land-Act. This piece of legislation provided necessary armour for the division of land and people in South Africa. We are still dealing with this and it has left a permanent scar on the South African psyche.” – Luan Nel (Curator) A one-off, original drawing scratched into exposed photographic paper titled A Farm Road, Somme (2013) was created for this exhibition. Related content Counter-memorial ‘The Lost Men France’, 1 July – 1 October 2014 ←Previous Next→

Postcards from South Africa — archive entry documenting Paul Emmanuel’s participation and work. Scarab (detail), 1997. Hand coloured, maniére noire stone lithograph. 15,5 x 10,5 cm. Edition 7 Postcards from South Africa , Axis Gallery, New York, USA, 10 September – 16 December, 1998 This was a group show of postcard-sized artworks from South Africa curated by Lisa Brittan and Gary Van Wyk. Related content Exhibition ‘Pages from Cathexis’, 30 April – 27 May 2000 ←Previous Next→

Transitions, a 2008 solo exhibition by Paul Emmanuel at the Apartheid Museum, Johannesburg, Gauteng, South Africa. Transitions 2 (detail), 2006. Original drawing hand-incised into exposed, colour photographic paper, 48 x 48 cm. Spier Collection. Courtesy of Art Source South Africa Transitions , Apartheid Museum, Johannesburg, Gauteng province, South Africa 27 September – 31 December 2008 ‘Transitions’ documents shifting male identity. This was the 1st showing of this touring solo museum exhibition comprising an installation of 5 original drawings, courtesy of the Spier Contemporary Collection and the short film ‘3SAI: A Rite of Passage’ (2008). ‘Transitions’ toured to 6 museum venues in South Africa and debuted internationally at the Smithsonian National Museum of African Art, Washington DC, USA. A full-colour publication with writings by André Croucamp and Robyn Sassen was published by Art Source South Africa. Artists statement In late 2004 I was exploring how the military influenced and perpetuated notions of masculinity in South Africa. One morning, while thinking about moments of change, I decided to photograph an actual military recruit head shaving while it was happening – to witness to an unfolding drama. After some research, I discovered that there were only two remaining military bases in South Africa which still perform this obligatory ‘rite of passage’ on their premises, one in Oudtshoorn and the other, Third South African Infantry Battalion (3SAI) in Kimberley. I phoned the Kimberley base, spoke to the Officer-in-Command and arranged a visit to photograph head shavings from the January 2005 intake. I remember feeling apprehensive of what I would find. I did not do military service. I only had references to military experiences told to me by my older brother and friends, who described their head shaving experiences of the apartheid military regime of the 1980s – their stories of feeling dehumanised, lots of shouting, indifference, bigotry and fear. Instead, I found a very different setting ... quiet lawns with well tended flower beds full of roses. Lines of recruits waiting patiently. No shouting. No authoritarianism. No evidence of the violent breaking down of the human spirit. Compared with the horror stories related to South Africa’s past, the equanimity of the scene was arresting. I was spellbound. These liminal moments of transition, when a young man either voluntarily – or is forced to – let go of one identity and take on a new identity as State Property with an assigned Force Number, prompted me to ask many questions: What was I actually witnessing? What is a “Rite of Passage” and how have similar “rituals” helped to form and perpetuate identities and belief systems throughout history? Why was I so powerfully drawn to and transfixed by these dramatic spectacles of subtle change and moments of suspended possibility and impossibility? And so began an intensely reflexive outward and inward journey, in and beyond my studio, which was to last four long years ... Related Content Publication ‘Transitions’, Art Source South Africa, 2008 Short film ‘3SAI: A Rite of Passage’, 2008 Documentary ‘How the Transitions Drawings Were Made’, 2011 Exhibition ‘Transitions’, Smithsonian National Museum of African Art, 2010

The First Four Years — archive entry documenting Paul Emmanuel’s participation and work. Twelve Apples , 1995. Manière noire stone lithograph, watercolours on 285 gsm Fabriano Rosaspina Avorio paper, 29 x 39 cm. Edition 10 The First Four Years , The Civic Gallery, Johannesburg, South Africa 1995 A group exhibition installed in the Civic Gallery (later known as The Gallery Premises) at The Johannesburg Civic Theatre. Related content 7a.jpg ‘Pages from Cathexis’, 30 April – 27 May 2000 ←Previous Next→

Reviewing the Past — archive entry documenting Paul Emmanuel’s participation and work. Lesion , 2015. Hand-printed, Chine-collé photogravure etching on 300 gsm Hahnemühle paper. Paper size 40 x 71,5 cm. Edition 8 Reviewing the Past , Carol Schlosberg Alumni Gallery, Montserrat College of Art, Boston, Massachusetts, USA, 18 January – 19 March 2022 Presented in conjunction with the exhibition, Samuel Bak and the Art of Remembrance, the group exhibition, Re-Viewing the Past , highlights the work of artists who explore ideas of history and memory as part of processes of re-writing or re-imagining. Creating in diverse media, including painting, printmaking, animation, and the graphic novel, participating artists consider their connection to history — whether personal or collective — as it resonates with or is interpreted through the present moment and current socio-political and cultural issues. Artists include Paul Emmanuel, Maya Erdelyi, Dell M. Hamilton, Dave Ortega, and Jordan Seaberry. Scar (2015) and Lesion (2015) were selected by curator Dr. Lynne Cooney for this exhibition. Related content Counter-memorial ‘The Lost Men France’, 1 July – 1 October 2014 Exhibition ‘Impermanence’, 8 March – 7 April 2018 ←Previous Next→