Mac McArthur The Women Upstairs

ttp://www.shout-africa.com/events-parties/zimbabwe-shona-sculpture-scan-photography-exhobition-opens-in-harare/

1.   For two weeks in March 2011, Mac McArthur visited Book Café in Harare, to exhibit "The Women Upstairs" and to run seminars for young artists. Book Café is the main independent arts organization in Zimbabwe, mixing artists of all genres.

2.   Scanner photography developed from copy art to charge-couple device technology. Compared to digital cameras, flatbed scanners have a limited depth of field but increased optical resolution. McArthur’s images are created with sculptures (mainly Shona from Zimbabwe), mirrors, wood, metal, and minerals arranged on the flatbed glass.

These politically charged images provoke thoughts about fundamental human rights and freedom of expression … the mandate of Campbell House Museum.

3.   Sharing the vernissage on Wednesday May 4 is the Zimbabwean author/ journalist Peter Godwin as he launches his new book “THE FEAR: Robert Mugabe and the Martyrdom of Zimbabwe”. Godwin chronicles the brutal aftermath of the 2008 election in a deeply personal and ultimately uplifting story of a man trying to make sense of the country he can no longer recognize as home.

4.   The artist Mac McArthur will be in attendance at the Museum each Wednesday and Saturday afternoon. With special guests on May 14 he will discuss both scanner photography and his recent experiences in Harare.

Curated by Liz Driver