‘GHOSTS’

RALPH ZIMAN

Due to popular demand, Ralph Ziman’s photographic body of artworks titled ‘Ghosts’, will be re exhibited at the launch of

the new Lov ell Urban gallery in Cape Town, f or the second time during 2014.

The photographer / f ilmmaker’s message behind his work transcends an alluring and brightly colored aesthetic, allowing

f or commentary and a reev aluation of gun control within the Af rican continent. A long dispute af f ecting the Af rican

continent since the AK 47’s widespread popularity in warf are in recent history .

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‘Isi-puku’

Ziman is an award winning South Af rican f ilm-maker liv ing and working in Venice Beach, Calif ornia. He has directed ov er

400 v ideos f or major artists and written and directed sev eral critically acclaimed f eature f ilms.

“While spending time again in Johannesburg I was horrified by the crime and the proliferation of weapons. The

ease with which they can be acquired and the fascination the culture has with guns in general and the AK -47 in

particular. The way that struggle songs lionize the gun. The sound the gun makes, the look of it. I wanted to

challenge those perceptions and to find a way to explore the subject. I wondered about who was shipping the

guns into Africa. I wanted to manufacture non-lethal weapons in Africa and ship them to the West.”

Ziman created the multi-f aceted body of work “Ghosts” as a direct response to an examination of the international arms

trade, specif ically on the Af rican continent where the AK-47 has been prolif erated widely . There are more than 70 million

AK-47s in circulation around the world. It is estimated that the AK-47 is responsible f or ov er one half of a billion deaths in

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wars and political disputes since its inv ention ov er 60 y ears ago. And that an alarming eighty percent of those killed are

innocent non-combatants of war. Figures of this ty pe are what inspired Ziman to create this thought prov oking portf olio of

work, designed to bring attention to this issue.

Ziman collaborated with six Zimbabwean craf tsmen to create hundreds of f aux AK-47’s out of traditional Af rican wire and

beads. Once completed the beaded guns were the subject of a photo shoot in crime ridden downtown Johannesburg. The

resulting photographs create a highly alluring, aesthetically dramatic and incredibly unsettling set of images. All proceeds

f rom work are being donated to charity .

Since releasing the ‘Ghosts’ photographic series in early 2014, Ralph has been f ilming a documentary on the arms trade

across Af rica. The documentary will be released in the near f uture. In conjunction to his photographic and f ilm making

practices, Ziman keeps the debate ov er the arms trade aliv e by regularly spreading awareness by pasting resistance

inspired artworks across cities across in the States and in South Af rica, such as his recent and powerf ul paste interv ention

at the Cape Town Grand Parade during October 2014.

Lov ell Urban is a new project space that aims to promote street art as well as all urban inspired genres of art in Cape

Town, Af rica and on an International spectrum. The project space also aims to promote Af rican Urban artists across all

platf orms and will continue to spark intercontinental dialogues regarding urban inspired genres of art.

Ralph Ziman’s ‘Ghosts’

Thursday 27 November 2014, 6.30 pm

For a private view ing of the exhibition, please contact

Megan Theunissen (curator), megantheunissen@outlook.com, alternatively

+2776 213 0442 or Tamzin Lovell Miller (Lovell director)

tamzin@lovellgallery.co.za; +2779176429

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All ‘Ghost’ photographs are available in two sizes.

HDR Inkjet print on Moab Entrada paper

Medium Format :

Dimensions: 71 cm x 101 cm

Editions of 15 available

Large Format :

Dimensions: 112 cm x 162 cm

Editions of 10 available

Cash Money Prints

Digital HDR inkjet print on Moab Entrada Paper

Dimensions: 82 x 86 x 5 cm

Editions of 35

Beaded / Wire AK 47s

Dimensions: 101 x 31 x 10 cm

(Limited Edition available in South Africa)

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‘ Amarasta 1 ‘

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‘Beware of Ghosts’ ‘Um-Khoba’

‘Chidoma’ (Ghost / Spectre) ‘Masoja’ (Soldiers)

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‘Hondo’ (War)

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‘Isosha’ (A Soldier)

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‘Chig-waga-waga’ (Machine Guns) ‘Ujenele 3’

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‘Matata’ (Troublemaker)

‘Isi-puku’ (Ghosts) ‘Izimpi’ (War Party)

‘Nzima’ (Heavy)

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‘Ukungu’ (Strife) ‘Umholi’ (Leader)

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‘Mabara Ako’ (Your Bullets)

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‘Mabara Enyu’ (Bullets, Respectfully Yours)

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‘Murarabungu Chigwagwaga 1 ’(Rainbow Machine Guns) ‘Murarabungu Chigwagwaga 5’ (Rainbow Machine Guns)

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‘Murarabungu Chigwagwaga 4’ (Rainbow Machine Guns)

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‘U-Sathane Obomvu 5’ (Red Devil) ‘U-Sathane Obomvu 12’ (Red Devil)

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‘U-Sathane Obomvu 7’ (Red Devil) ‘U-Sathane Obomvu 8’ (Red Devil)

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‘U-Sathane Obombvu 4’ (Red Devil)

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‘Tokoloshe 3’ ‘Tokoloshe U-Sathane Ombomvu 2’

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Beaded / Wire AK47’s

R 8 160. 00 (price excludes vat)

Crates Containing Beaded Wire AK47s on exhibition in California

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‘Cash for Chaos’

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‘Dirty Money’

‘Filthy Lucre’

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‘Currency of Destruction’

‘Prophet of War’

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The term urban art refers to a variety of art forms that are grouped together because they are created in

city areas, depict city life, or make statements about issues affecting communities w ithin urban domains.

Urban art began as graff iti, w hich w as the spray-painting of buildings, bridges, and other structures and

w as considered by many to be vandalism. From its controversial and illegal beginnings, urban art has

grow n into an art form that uses a w ide variety of media and ranges from simple graff iti to publicly

commissioned large-scale murals and sculptures w hich could be more commonly defined as ‘street art’.

Despite common predictions that street art w as nothing more than a fad, it has never decreased in

popularity. The market for street art has only strengthened in recent years w ith prices continuing to rise in

conjunction w ith its increased recognition as one of the dominant art movements of the 21st century .

Statistics from auctions held at Bonhams as w ell as Sotheby’s in recent years prove the demand for street

art in the contemporary art market.

Urban/Street art is a compelling genre of art for young collectors or those on a budget, w ith a w ide variety

of w orks by highly skilled artists available for reasonable prices. What makes collecting Urban/Street art

even more appealing is the expanding public debate about its validity and influence upon popular culture.

Artists such as Banksy, Nick Walker, Daleast, Keith Haring, Faith47, Sw oon, Faile, Blek Le Rat, D*Face,

Shepard Fairey are names commanding high prices for original w orks, how ever limited edition prints by

most of these artists can be purchased for low er prices. The conversation w ithin the genre is ever

expanding w ith the rise of media content and social media platforms taking note.

Lovell Urban is a project space in Cape Tow n, focusing on expanding the urban art dialogue w ithin the

African continent, show casing Africa's Urban talent and that of visiting artists from all over the globe.

Lovell Urban is situated at the ground floor, 139 Albert Road, Woodstock. Feel free to drop by to view

urban art, drink a Garagista beer w hile w atching the brew ers at w ork!

Telephone: +27 (0)21 447 5918 | Mobile: +27 (0)79 176 4292

www.lovellgallery.co.za