The Dripping Man: Art, the Ephemeral, and the Urban Soul

Abstract

Through an analysis of the photographic work of Cameroonian multimedia artist Hervé Yamguen, this essay analyses intersections between contemporary creative practice, economic and political violence in the postcolony, and individual ethical engagement. The primary focus of the text is a series of self-portraits shot by the artist in 2000-2001. In these works of un-retouched argentic photography, Yamguen deploys ephemeral materials and techniques that highlight the contingent nature of identity. In the process, politically charged (mis)uses of the concept of identity come under fire, resulting in a body of work that stands as a powerful rebuke to easy, all to often reactionary readings of self and other.

Cite this work

No public copy is stored for this record, so only the metadata is cited.

Stored only when both papers are in the corpus — 2 citations exist upstream.

Papers that cite the same references — the relational fallback while embeddings are still backfilling.