Maryam Jafri

The starting point for this video is a photograph of Maryam Jafri’s sculpture Anxiety, taken at Frieze Art Fair in London in October 2017, which was then turned into a stock image for licensing on the Getty Images website without the artist’s knowledge or permission. A voiceover traces the work’s journey from a sculpture for sale at an art fair to a digital asset. Jafri reflects on the role of originality, artistic production and copyright in a digital culture of sampling and remixing. The title refers to the caption of the stock image, in which the artist’s name was misspelled. 

Maryam Jafri (b. 1972 USA, based in Copenhagen, Denmark / Oslo, Norway / New York, USA) uses different media – video, sculpture, photography and performance – to interrogate the cultural and visual representation of history, politics and the economy. Her work makes multiple references to literature, theatre, pop art and conceptual art.

Courtesy of the artist and Laveronica Gallery