A fatal attraction,
A gentle persuasion.
By Nyadzombe Nyampenza
The male gaze can easily be drawn to the head and shoulder profile of a woman wearing an ornate hairstyle. The female gaze would be equally enticed. Both sexes are lured into pondering grave matters beyond fashion and style.
Bare statistics are not attractive. David Palacios pulls a feat by gathering facts and stats within his photo graphics installation ‘Domestic Violence 2016’. The installation provides a stimulating way for the audience to engage with boring data. In the gallery space it brings both sexes to stand on equal footing, and observe from a single vantage point. The work is part of an exhibition at National Gallery of Zimbabwe, titled Point of view.
The installation shows information on domestic violence in Nigeria from 2013 -2016. It is made up of panels featuring different models wearing various hairstyles. The photos were inspired by famous Nigerian photographer JD Ojeikere. One of the familiar images is appropriation of a photograph in Ojeikere’s collections originally titled ‘Abebe 1975’.
The combination of unique hairstyle and infographics is attention grabbing. Numbers circled in red against a monochrome background, have the pull of notifications on social media. The numbers indicate the occurrence of domestic violence between urban, and rural residents. There is a remarkably higher rate of domestic violence in the urban spaces. Tables on to the left provide more stats under different categories. There is a small graph at the top of the image. The line in the graph mirrors the shape of the braided hair, subliminally reinforcing its message.
Palacios a former resident of Nigeria has purposefully inverted the use of Ojeikere’s image. With a constellation of facts and figures he subtly shifts attention to the welfare of the model. By appealing to a sense of beauty, the audience is made to confront an ugly truth.
