Soukhos

Raphaël Barontini's residency at Heng Long Leather in Singapore resulted in a series of mounted artifacts, versatile pieces, elements of adornment, and manifesto objects with flawless finishing touches, brought together as a great set piece. He combined a deep appreciation of textile as a medium with a mastery of fabric printing, enhancement, and dyeing processes. Due to travel restrictions, a photo shoot of a performance incorporating pieces from the series was arranged at the Basilica of Saint-Denis, supplemented by sessions on the roof of a building.

Format: Hardback
Publication date: 31 January 2021
Publisher: RVB Books

Raphaël Barontini has dedicated himself to visually representing the faces and bodies of Black history for several years. He explores iconographies from around the world, particularly those of the 18th century, which were shaped by the Enlightenment and slavery. Barontini pays tribute to both famous and anonymous figures who have been excluded from national narratives. He crosses the boundaries of iconographies, ranging from European bourgeoisie to African royal courts, popular imagery, ethnographic archives, and anthropological archives. Creolization is an essential part of his artistic process. Soukhoschronicles Barontinis residency at Heng Long Leather, a Singapore tannery specializing in crocodile leather. After gaining an understanding of Heng Longs know-how, he played with it and opened up hitherto unimagined possibilities with the artisans as he developed his project. Barontini combines a deep appreciation of textile as a medium with a mastery of fabric printing, enhancement, and dyeing processes. The outcome of this artists residency is a series of mounted artifacts, versatile pieces, elements of adornment, and manifesto objects with flawless finishing touches, brought together as a great set piece, akin to an installation as a wonderful parade. As this edition of the residency was held in the midst of the Covid-19 pandemic, Barontini had to adapt his approach. He and the photographer Alexandre Guirkinger needed to draw on their creativity in producing the images for this book. To ensure that the tannery would be present despite the distance, videos were taken within the Heng Long Leather ateliers in Sin.

Weight: 946g
Dimension: 224 x 331 x 20 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9782492175022