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Paul Mpagi Sepuya — Aperture (_2140020)
Paul Mpagi Sepuya

Aperture (_2140020)

2018

In *Aperture (_2140020)*, Paul Mpagi Sepuya turns the photographic studio into both subject and apparatus, folding the mechanics of image-making directly into the image itself. A mirror, a body, a camera, and the controlled geometry of the studio combine in a composition that is at once intimate and rigorously formal. The aperture of the title functions as more than a technical reference, pointing instead to the productive gap between seeing and being seen, between the photograph as record and as construction. Sepuya's signature fragmentation is present here, offering the viewer not a transparent window onto a subject but a carefully staged encounter with the medium's own logic. Produced in 2018, this archival pigment print belongs to a period in which Sepuya was receiving considerable critical attention for redefining portraiture and studio practice around questions of queer desire, Black embodiment, and photographic self-reflexivity. The work operates through layering, both literally and conceptually, as reflected surfaces and cropped figures accumulate meaning without resolving into a single narrative. The restrained palette and precise tonal range typical of Sepuya's practice are rendered with particular fidelity in the archival pigment format, ensuring both longevity and a richness of surface detail that rewards close looking. Measuring 81.3 by 61 centimeters and signed by the artist, this work is well-suited to a serious collection focused on contemporary photography or the discourse around the body and representation. Its provenance through the Aperture Foundation Benefit Auction connects it to one of the most respected institutions in the history of the photographic medium, adding a layer of cultural significance to an already compelling object.

Medium
Archival pigment print
Overall
Signed
Yes

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About this work

Paul Mpagi Sepuya, Aperture (_2140020), 2018

In *Aperture (_2140020)*, Paul Mpagi Sepuya turns the photographic studio into both subject and apparatus, folding the mechanics of image-making directly into the image itself. A mirror, a body, a camera, and the controlled geometry of the studio combine in a composition that is at once intimate and rigorously formal. The aperture of the title functions as more than a technical reference, pointing instead to the productive gap between seeing and being seen, between the photograph as record and as construction. Sepuya's signature fragmentation is present here, offering the viewer not a transparent window onto a subject but a carefully staged encounter with the medium's own logic. Produced in 2018, this archival pigment print belongs to a period in which Sepuya was receiving considerable critical attention for redefining portraiture and studio practice around questions of queer desire, Black embodiment, and photographic self-reflexivity. The work operates through layering, both literally and conceptually, as reflected surfaces and cropped figures accumulate meaning without resolving into a single narrative. The restrained palette and precise tonal range typical of Sepuya's practice are rendered with particular fidelity in the archival pigment format, ensuring both longevity and a richness of surface detail that rewards close looking. Measuring 81.3 by 61 centimeters and signed by the artist, this work is well-suited to a serious collection focused on contemporary photography or the discourse around the body and representation. Its provenance through the Aperture Foundation Benefit Auction connects it to one of the most respected institutions in the history of the photographic medium, adding a layer of cultural significance to an already compelling object.

Medium
Archival pigment print
Dimensions
overall: 81.3 x 61 cm
Year
2018
Signed
Hand-signed by the artist
Seen at
Aperture Foundation Benefit Auction

Related themes

Mohn Art Collective

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Collected by

Gavin Kennedy