Pictura Gallery

The Men Who Would Be King

A collaborative body of work by photographer Jon Tonks and writer Christopher Lord.

Dates + Events

October Gallery Walk: Jon Tonks

Friday, October 7 | 5:00pm - 8:00pm

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October Pictura Kids with Ms. Hilary

Saturday, October 8 | 11:00am - 12:00pm

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The Men Who Would be King follows several American and European men who traveled to the nation of Vanuatu, claiming to be the fulfillment of a prophecy to become a powerful leader on the island of Tanna. In this exhibition, photographer Jon Tonks and writer Christopher Lord examine the varied response to the foreign men who reach for imaginary power, as they sift through the remnants of colonialism and its ongoing ramifications on the islands.

On View: September 2 - November 23

The telling of this story is a thorny endeavor. The discussion of power, privilege and how it is gained, sought, and wielded remains unfortunately ever-relevant. Conveying the web of dynamics at play in Vanuatu presents a challenge: How do we discuss the effects of those who choose to engage in the tropes of ​“the white man’s burden” without reinforcing their projected self importance?

Within this exhibition, the men in question occupy a significant amount of real estate on the wall. But these hazy pink, larger-than-life portraits serve to present their fantasies, the way these self-aggrandized men might see themselves. The project as a whole reveals a more grounded reality and hints at the narrowness of their actual influence.

The majority of the imagery focuses on the citizens of Vanuatu and their daily lives on the islands. Jon Tonks is particularly adept at connecting the viewer with the people and places that he photographs. In this project, he is characteristically curious in his observations and gentle in his treatment. Tonks’ representation of the islands feels genuine, and it serves as a healthy contrast to the fictional narratives of those yearning for positions of power.

This installation came from a desire to translate the interaction that a viewer has with a photobook onto the gallery wall. Selections of text from the book by the writer, Christopher Lord, are woven in among the photographs. Floor to ceiling versions of the book’s pages paper the wall.The show is built to keep one circulating, so that the content is not necessarily absorbed in a linear way. It creates the impulse to wander and circle back around to re-evaluate what has been seen. The layered nature of the installation echoes the complexity of the story being told. Here, histories and narratives of both personal and national identities converge, clash, and intertwine.

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