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Jono Rotman has got a sunhat on his head and a beard on his chin.
One of the functions of art is to transmit a reality that might be
marginalised or missed in the cacophony of glib stimuli vying for our
attention. Jono Rotman has carefully, respectfully insinuated himself
into the culture of gangs, earning their trust. That trust is embodied in
his Mongrel Mob Portraits. His subjects’ faces, tattoos, and insignia
signify their alienation and marginalisation from mainstream society.
The image of gangs portrayed to the general public is the incarnation
of the white man’s worst nightmare, the emergence of a threatening
monster from the ashes of the ‘noble savage’ portrayed by Lindauer
and Goldie. These portraits challenge us to ask: what are the hidden
and untold stories that underlie them?
—Dr Ranginui Walker
Dr Ranginui Walker (Whakatōhea) is an academic, author, historian, commentator, activist, and iwi consultant.
He has been Professor and Head of Māori Studies at the University of Auckland, and, since his retirement, has
been on the Waitangi Tribunal. In 2009, Dr Walker received the honour of the Distinguished Companion of the
New Zealand Order of Merit.
Aaron Rogue 2009, C-type photograph, 1.5 x 1.2m.
COVER Sean Wellington and Sons 2009, C-type photograph, 1.9 x 1.5m.Exchange: Jono Rotman’s Mongrel Mob Portraits
Aaron Lister
We are always looking and looking away at the same time.
—W.G. Sebald, On the Natural History of Destruction (1998)
THE EXPERIENCE OF the trial is itself photographic. Ushered into the public
gallery of the courtroom with the warning that interest in the trial is likely to be
significant following that controversial exhibition in Auckland, the conditions of
viewing and my status as observer are continually reinforced. The courtroom is
divided from the public gallery by a large wooden structure, essentially a frame
with glass panels through which proceedings can be seen. Granted the power to
observe through the glass, I am also very aware of being observed. Throughout
the proceedings, photography’s ‘evidential force’ is regularly called on to deliver
or dispute evidence. Trial photographs hold truths. They appear to be considered
a more trustworthy information source than memory or written testimony. 1 Some
images are projected for public consideration, others are shown only to the jury
in a folder. Hanging on the courtroom walls are painted portraits of retired Chief
Justices. Depicted with the accoutrements of their profession, these painted
men display all the authority, prestige, and status accorded them in a wellfunctioning
society, a power they now symbolise rather than exercise.
I first saw Shano Rogue in a proof sheet sent to me by the artist
showing his new portraits of Mongrel Mob members and, later, on an invitation
to the opening of an exhibition at Gow Langford Gallery in Auckland. Controversy
surrounded the dealer gallery’s exhibition following the discovery that Shano
Rogue was both a subject of one of Jono Rotman’s portraits and a prisoner on
remand awaiting trial for murder. The controversy propelled his image into wide
public circulation. Like many others, I encountered the photograph in the gallery
after seeing it splashed across television and newspapers—a strange irony
considering the media’s insistence that the portrait be removed from public
view, that this is a face that should not be seen.
The Shano Rogue in the photograph differs from the Shane Pierre
Harrison presented in the courtroom. He is on show in both cases, but in the
courtroom the terms are very different. He is without the patched jacket, gang
colours, and other regalia brandished so strongly in the photograph. Some things
cannot be removed: notably, the facial tattoos or ‘mask’ and, invisible beneath
his clothing, the full Mongrel Mob patch inked onto his back. Also, in the dock,
he does not stand alone—a defining condition of Rotman’s portraits. Harrison’s
accomplice and the two attending officers of the court never leave his side.
These two versions of the subject clash. The photograph presents
E
I really like his work and he's representing pattern on his dog. He always takes photos when he has his camera straight. |
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