The Colors of Djibouti - Photographs by Peter Bonnén

“This is where I found the colors and color combinations that I had always sought. There they were. I took picture after picture. So here are the paintings that I have never been able to paint” (Peter Bonnén, 2016).

The photo exhibition The Colors of Djibouti – Photographs by Peter Bonnén opens on November 23rd, presenting large-scale color photographs taken on a journey to the little Muslim land of Djibouti on the Horn of Africa. The motifs are house facades of corrugated iron with skew lines and bright colors.

Perhaps it wasn’t possible to build structures with right angles when the dilapidated houses in Djibouti City that the artist photographed were constructed. Perhaps not all colors were available. Nonetheless, there is no doubt that some thought went into the process. The buildings and colors were intended to meet the needs at that specific place and that specific time.

Now the shapes and colors work in a new way. Seen through an artist’s eye, they become aesthetic compositions like the dreamlike travel photographs of Bruce Chatwin or the smoldering fields of color of Mark Rothko. But the real world is not far away. In a corner is a sign in French and Arabic for an eatery. A score of gaudy brassieres hang from a line in a window.

With this special exhibition, the David Collection continues its series of photo exhibitions from and about the world of Islam, featuring both vintage photographs and work by contemporary artists. This time the artist is a man who is actually not known for his photography. Since the 1960s, Peter Bonnén has primarily concentrated on sculpture, and his work can be found throughout Denmark in both private and public spaces.

This special exhibition will be shown from November 23, 2016, to April 16, 2017. Admission to both the museum and the exhibition is free. A little catalogue in Danish and English can be purchased for DKK 20.

Peter Bonnén will deliver the lecture (in Danish) Why in the World do we do what we do – a Question of Art at David’s Bazaar on November 30th at 19.00. Tickets (DKK 50) can be purchased in the museum shop or at www.billetlugen.dk.