The Elephant 2018

Curator: Pieter Henket's 2018 piece, "The Elephant," immediately brings a grounded sense of childlike resourcefulness to mind. The use of mixed media and photography lends it an almost hyper-real quality, as if pulled straight from a dream. Editor: Yes, there's an ingenuity at play, but also something very precarious. The obvious care in constructing this improvised shelter with broad leaves, likely taro leaves and possibly from a banana tree, against the backdrop of tall grass… I immediately think of available materials and immediate need. Curator: I agree; it brings a sense of both vulnerability and resistance. We see this young person, almost hiding in plain sight, utilizing the landscape for protection but also making themselves visible through the very act. It begs the question, from what or whom are they seeking refuge? Editor: That makes me think about labor and process. Someone made that patterned fabric of the dress. Someone tended that landscape, whether it is a farm, garden or whatever the specific setting is in the photograph, while Pieter Henket made a picture of the child in that space. This image reminds us of the tangible work that underpins all of this. Curator: Absolutely. And beyond the immediately visible labor, think of the symbolic labor. The elephant here isn't literal. It's an act of imagination, a shield crafted from what's available. How much does identity rely on this construction when access and resources are limited? Is it a political statement? Is it cultural resilience? Editor: Indeed, this kind of practical ingenuity is frequently labeled a primitive gesture or something unrefined. Yet it presents a material challenge to notions of a hierarchy of labour where making shifts to creating value and ingenuity takes a turn towards genius. The image confronts these notions by combining photographic technologies, natural forms and locally manufactured or hand made material. Curator: Exactly! It is complex precisely because it isn't relying on the artifice of privilege or the illusion of technology; it highlights this ability to adapt and find creative answers despite limited resources. Editor: It's a fascinating challenge to our assumptions. It reminds us to analyze not only what we see, but how it was created. It challenges any hierarchy between high art and vernacular. Curator: This work pushes us to consider broader societal structures that impact how one might navigate visibility, especially young Black subjects like this individual whose image calls to mind generations of resistance, in their own form. Editor: Precisely, making us recognize both ingenuity and precarity in this space and time.