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Robert & Shana ParkeHarrison

Robert (b. 1968, Fort Leonard Wood, USA) and Shana ParkeHarrison (b. 1964, Tulsa, USA) produce deliberately artificial photographs with a great narrative density in a sepia tone which is reminiscent of the early days of photography. Viewing their works may spontaneously remind us of Georges Méliès’s film Le Voyage dans la lune (1902), made almost 100 years earlier, although Robert and Shana ParkeHarrison have transformed its visionary optimism into occasionally apocalyptic metaphors. In their photographs a human being (representing ‘humankind’) is always shown attempting to tame the forces of nature in the midst of lifeless, dust-dry expanses. The dreamlike, amusing and highly detailed scenes are imbued with the ecological scepticism of the post-industrial era. At the same time, the two artists’ photographs open up poetic insights into their own, strange world.

Artworks

  1. Robert & Shana ParkeHarrison Suspended Field, 2000

    Impression numérique noir et blanc sur panneau, acrylique, vernis
    104,4 x 135,5 cm
    Collection Mudam Luxembourg
    Acquisition 2011
    © Robert & Shana ParkeHarrison
    Courtesy les artistes et Jack Shainman Gallery, NY

  1. Robert & Shana ParkeHarrison The Navigator, 2001

    Photogravure
    66 x 76 cm
    Collection Mudam Luxembourg
    Acquisition 2011
    © Robert & Shana ParkeHarrison
    Courtesy les artistes et Jack Shainman Gallery, NY

  1. A man, floating in the air attached to a string, marking the ground with circular schapes
    Robert & Shana ParkeHarrison Marks We Make, 2005

    Photogravure
    78 x 68 cm
    Collection Mudam Luxembourg
    Acquisition 2011
    © Robert & Shana ParkeHarrison
    Courtesy les artistes et Jack Shainman Gallery, NY

The most important collection of contemporary art in Luxembourg Explore the Mudam Collection