*1960
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Scarred for Life II. Always the Sheep, 1987 (1999) Scarred for Life II. Always the Sheep, 1987 Artist: Tracey Moffatt Dating: 1999 Type: Photography Material: Offset print on paper Measures: 80 x 60 cm Acces / purchase date: 2000 Inventory number: 0749 Copyright: © Tracey Moffatt, ProLitteris, Zürich; Fotos: Courtesy Künstlerin und L. A. Galerie Lothar Albrecht -
Scarred for Life II. Scissor Cut, 1980 (1999) Scarred for Life II. Scissor Cut, 1980 Artist: Tracey Moffatt Dating: 1999 Type: Photography Material: Offset print on paper Measures: 80 x 60 cm Acces / purchase date: 2000 Inventory number: 0757 Copyright: © Tracey Moffatt, ProLitteris, Zürich; Fotos: Courtesy Künstlerin und L. A. Galerie Lothar Albrecht -
Invocations No. 11 (2000) Invocations No. 11 Artist: Tracey Moffatt Dating: 2000 Type: Photography Material: Screen print on paper Measures: 109 x 97 cm Acces / purchase date: 2000 Inventory number: 0745 Copyright: © Tracey Moffatt, ProLitteris, Zürich; Fotos: Courtesy Künstlerin und L. A. Galerie Lothar Albrecht
The fact that Moffatt’s works are highly complex—never merely one-dimensional indictments—is due to their form. Each sheet has an image, a title, and a text. While the explanatory comments are extremely short and pithy, the images are filled with details that open up an entire narrative panorama. Although the photographs look almost like snapshots, they are carefully staged by Moffatt, who also often works with film. The muted colors in the photographs, and the thin, cream-colored paper create the impression that these are reproductions of the kind that were seen in illustrated magazines in the 1960s—in publications such as “LIFE” magazine in the United States. Thus the private, unspectacular nature of the scenarios contrasts with their form, which calls to mind what is now an iconic visual language from the world of publishing.
Many of the scenes in “Scarred for Life II” are based on the artist’s own experience or on tragi-comic stories told by her friends. In her photographs and films Tracey Moffatt consistently addresses gender issues, minorities, and the situation of the native peoples of Australia. She made the earlier series, “Scarred for Life I,” which explores a related theme, in 1994. But even in her very first film, “Nice Coloured Girls” (1987), Moffatt already juxtaposed the reality of life for young Aborigine women with historic images of their female ancestors’ oppression by white men. Moffatt’s discomfiting works demonstrate the power of images and the power of clichés and prejudices. They show how crucial these have been not only in the colonial history of Australia, but also in her own life, right up to the present day.
Dora Imhof
Further works by Tracey Moffatt in the Baloise art collection:
Inv. no. 0746, Invocations No. 1, 2000, Screen print on paper, 97,0 x 121,7 cm
Inv. no. 0747, Invocations No. 8, 2000, Screen print on paper, 125 x 103 cm
Inv. no. 0748, Scarred for Life II. Suicide Threat. 1982, 1999, Offset print on paper, 80 x 60 cm
Inv. no. 0750, Scarred for Life II. Door Dash. 1979, 1999, Offset print on paper, 80 x 60 cm
Inv. no. 0751, Scarred for Life II. Pantyhose Arrest. 1973, 1999, Offset print on paper, 80 x 60 cm
Inv. no. 0752, Scarred for Life II. Responsible but Dreaming. 1984, 1999, Offset print on paper, 80 x 60 cm
Inv. no. 0753, Scarred for Life II. Piss Bags. 1978, 1999, Offset print on paper, 80 x 60 cm
Inv. no. 0754, Scarred for Life II. Mother's Reply. 1976, 1999, Offset print on paper, 80 x 60 cm
Inv. no. 0755, Scarred for Life II. Brother was Mother. 1983, 1999, Offset print on paper, 80 x 60 cm
Inv. no. 0756, Scarred for Life II. Homemade Hand-knit. 1958, 1999, Offset print on paper, 80 x 60 cm
Inv. no. 0792, Fourth, No. 6, 2001, Color print on canvas, 36 x 46 cm
Inv. no. 0793, Fourth, No. 8, 2001, Color print on canvas, 36 x 46 cm
Inv. no. 0794, Fourth, No. 11, 2001, Color print on canvas, 36 x 46 cm
Inv. no. 0795, Fourth, No. 26, 2001, Color print on canvas, 36 x 46 cm
Inv. no. 0796, Fourth, No. 18, 2001, Color print on canvas, 36 x 46 cm