Funny Money
Max Siedentopf
Kesselskramer
English
Hardcover
36 pages
130 x 70 mm
2016
ISBN 9789070478469
A lot of westerners and white Africans want to photograph the locals in Africa. Unfortunately, the truth is that they rarely want to document the reality of the person in front of them, rather they want a photo that reinforces their ‘idea’ of a stereotypical ‘African’. It is common place for photographers to pay these people for a photo, this gives them the power to instruct their subject on how they want to portray them; simultaneously turning the photo into a lie that exploits the individual, their culture, their tribal history and perpetuates derogatory stereotypes. The temptation of easy money (in countries where poverty is rife) is why these people usually agree to pose for the photos as dictated by wealthy westerners. They rarely get the opportunity to pose for a photo as ‘themselves’, the way they would choose to be seen if they were asked.
Max Siedentopf is a white Namibian who now lives in the Netherlands. On his last visit home he took 100 Euros and exchanged it for 1700 Namibian dollars. He asked locals if he could take their photo, if they wanted money in return Max let them name their price without any bargaining. They were free to pose any way they liked. His only request was that the money had to be part of the photo so that the ambitions and transactions that inspired the image were clear. How they were portrayed was completely up to them and he didn’t direct the photo in any way. The series was finished when Max ran out of money. This book shows how much fun and photos 100 Euros will get you in Namibia.
Description of Form
This photobook comes in the form of a flip book flat-bound at the top of the book. The cover is the same print on the 50 South African Rand dollar.
About the Artist
Max Siedentopf (1991) is a London based multi-disciplinary conceptual artist working across video, photography, sculpture, creative direction and everything in-between and is the founder of the of the art publication ORDINARY. From 2013 – 2020 Max Siedentopf has been creative director of the ‘legendary and unorthodox’ creative agency KesselsKramer, which was founded in 1996 by the dutch artist Erik Kessels, and is the only one that has worked at all three offices and becoming the youngest partner at the age of 25.
maxsiedentopf.com
About the Publisher
KesselsKramer is a company which aspires to do things differently in the field of communications. KesselsKramer Publishing is an extension of this restless attitude. In images and words, it finds new ways of expressing creativity through printed matter.
kesselskramerpublishing.com
