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Pam Guhrs-Carr was born in Malawi and raised in Zambia, in one of Africa's prolific wildlife areas, the Luangwa Valley. As a Kunda resident she grew up with an intimate knowledge of the wildlife in the area. The Kunda are a multi-ethnic language group, under 6 chiefs in a rural area where the people are outnumbered by wild animals. From her family village in Luangwa's wilderness environment her work has been informed on multiple levels as she draws on its history, indigenous cultures and bio-diversity. Her art attempts to come to terms with various cultural overlays as a Zambian artist with a western university art education. During the Kunda initiation ceremony of her two daughters she realised that the clay images traditionally made for this ritual looked similar to ancient rock art in other parts of Zambia. Interest in the art of local women's initiation ceremonies and male masking societies has led to formal research for her MA Fine Arts at the University of Witwatersrand Johannesburg under Karel Nel. Her work challenges hackneyed perceptions of animals in Africa. From western eyes that visit zoos and game reserves, to local perceptions of animals as intrinsically linked to ancestors, she revisions the metaphors that bind humans and animals. The slave and ivory traders that once used the Luangwa Valley as a route to Zanzibar and the East populate her paintings along with owls, hyenas and gazing tourists. Spirit, transformation and secrecy entwine with notions of animal as commodity. She has exhibited her work in Zambia, Botswana, Kenya, South Africa, Tanzania, the United States and London. Her work is represented in museums and collections internationally and has been auctioned by Christies in London.
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ANIMALS
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© Pam Guhrs-Carr 2008 |
