THE SALT YARD, HONG KONG
“The Game is Killing The Game”
David Chancellor
28 Jun, 2014 – 24 Aug, 2014
curated by Steve Bisson
The Salt Yard, an independent art space, will exhibit David Chancellor’s “The Game Is Killing The Game”, a documentary series on hunting safaris that he photographed in South Africa over the years. Since the beginning of the 20th century, East African hunting safaris has became a fashionable pursuit among members of the privileged classes in Europe and the United States. It was also a source of revenue for the British colonial government and produces a group of professional hunters who especially served these privileged classes. Big-game hunting is still vibrant recently but it now exists in the form of the so-called game ranching that habitats of livestock farming are turned into venues for wild animals in captivity and places for tourists enjoying hunting. These ranches are now popular in South Africa and are authorized in many African countries.
© Bloodied Hunter # V, South Africa, 2010 Photograph: David Chancellor/INSTITUTE
The documentary series of David Chancellor fully revealed the various perspectives of South African hunting safaris, including the hunter and the hunted as well as the displaying of stuffed animals as trophies. People hunted in order to fill their stomachs or make a living in the past but now they hunt for pleasure. Chancellor’s works call for a reflection of this ancient and uncivilized “sport” when animal right is a hot topic in the globe. An opening reception will be held between 6pm and 8am on June 28, whilst a seminar will be held between 4.30pm and 6pm on the same day. Curator Steve Bisson will share with us about the representation of animals/faunas in the history of art with a specific outlook in photography. Members of the public are welcomed to participate.
© Gymnasium, Dallas, Texas, 2011 Photograph: David Chancellor/INSTITUTE
David Chancellor, born London England, works and lives in South Africa. He has participated in numerous group and solo exhibitions, exhibited in major galleries and museums around the world. Named Nikon photographer of the year three times. In 2009, he won the National Portrait Gallery London’s Taylor Wessing Portrait Prize. In 2013, he received a number of awards including World Understanding Award in the Pictures of the Year International competition from the US, the Kuala Lumpur International Photo Award for portraiture, the Vienna International Photo Award for documentary photography, and the Kontinent Award for documentary photography.
© Fallen Giraffe, Somerset East, Eastern Cape, South Africa, 2012 Photograph: David Chancellor/INSTITUTE
In recent years, Chancellor has increasingly turned his focus onto documenting man’s commodification of wildlife. He released his first monograph ‘hunters’, in which he explores the complex relationship that exists between man and animal, the hunter and the hunted. One of the series, “Elephant Story” won the World Press Photo Award in 2010.’