52-53 / 96
52 Earth and Elsewhere | Contemporary Works from the Collection
Earth and Elsewhere | Contemporary Works from the Collection 53
William Kentridge
/ South Africa b.1955
/
Zeno writing (portfolio)
(detail) 2002
/ Photogravure with drypoint and burnishing on Hahnemuhle paper
/ Nine sheets: 39.3 x 53.3cm
(each, irreg.) Nine sheets: 21.5 x 27cm (each comp.)
/ Acc. 2004.104.001–009
/ Purchased 2004. Andrew and Lilian Pedersen Trust
Wi ll iam Kentr idge
Zeno writing (portfolio)
2002
William Kentridge’s practice is informed by the political and
historical realities of South Africa, while also addressing the
broader human condition. This portfolio of prints is related to
his
Zeno writing
film that incorporates animation and archival
film. A meditation on human vulnerability in the face of complex
psychological and political realities, the film’s central anti-hero,
Zeno (inspired by the protagonist of Italo Svevo’s 1923 novel
La Coscienza di Zeno
or
Zeno’s Conscience
), is never seen, but
his presence and indecisive character are portrayed through
vignettes of diaries and daily log entries. The centrality of the
drawing process is emphasised throughout the work and merges
seamlessly with historical war footage and torn paper cut-outs.