Rosângela Rennó: Río-Montevideo, Photographers' Gallery ★★★★

Appropriated images: the first solo exhibition from Brazilian artist comes to the Photographers' Gallery, January 2016

Audience in Independencia Stadium, Montevideo, during Peñarol Athletics Club soccer play. Unknown date, between 1957 and 1973. El Popular Private Collection Reproduction Authorized by Aurelio González and Centro de Fotografía, photography London 2016

Rosângela Rennó is something of a scavenger. The Brazilian artist roots through archives, flea markets, digging up old holiday snaps, photo-booth images, class portraits. Rennó is searching for truth; images that weren't conceived with an artistic intent, that tell some forgotten story. By collecting and assembling these 'Found' images, the artist takes dead, discarded photos and renews their symbolism.

This year, The Photographers Gallery stage Rennó's first major solo show in the UK, Rio-Montevido. The images, taken in the '60s and '70s, are taken from the archive of now-obsolete Uruguayan communist newspaper, El Popular.

Set amid the climactic social and political upheaval of the time, the images form a narrative of everyday life: sporting events, marriages, demonstrations, religious ceremonies. The censorship of Uruguay's regime has wiped much of its history from memory - the negatives would have been destroyed had they not been hidden. Rennó's project attempts alleviate the amnesia surrounding this turbulent period of South American History.

This show is more installation than exhibition: the images appear on the walls of the gallery, via twenty different slide projectors of different eras and models. Rennó picked these up at the flea markets of Montevido and Rio de Janeiro, and their judderings and whirs provide an unsettling soundtrack - especially combined with the eery music-box tinklings of the communist International Anthem that plats in the background.

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What Rosângela Rennó: Río-Montevideo, Photographers' Gallery
Where The Photographers' Gallery, 16-18 Ramillies Street, London, W1F 7LW | MAP
Nearest tube Oxford Circus (underground)
When 22 Jan 16 – 03 Apr 16, Mon – Fri: 10.00 - 18.00
 Thu: 10.00 - 20.00 during exhibitions
 Sat: 10.00 - 18.00
 Sun: 11.00 - 18.00 Last admission 30 minutes before Gallery closes
Price £Free entry – before 12.00 Daily Exhibition Day Pass – £3/£2.50 Concs Advance Booking Online – £2.50/£2.00 Concs
Website Click here for more information




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