Flemish cartoonist and painter Kamagurka never shies away from an experiment, such as turning round the common practice of portrait painting. In 2008 he created a series of portraits for a Belgian television series, based on his imagination. Viewers who recognized themselves were invited to send in their picture. The series was an enormous success, which lead to a second series of portraits for the Dutch newspaper NRC Handelsblad. Here too, many readers found their own likeness in the portraits and send in mailbags full of pictures.
In the Cobra museum in Amstelveen, the twelve portraits are now on display, in an attempt to recreate this effect in the flesh, and gather as many people who look like the portraits in the museums. Later the exhibition will also be shown in Obuda in Hungary, Woking (England) and Berlin-Tempelhof (Germany). In every town, Kamagurka hopes to meet as many people who look like his accidental portraits.
(one of Kamagurka’s ‘accidental portraits’; does it remind you of yourself or someone you know?)
If you’re curious whether Kamagurka accidentally did your portrait, head here and compare the paintings with the image from your webcam. The exhibition is on display in Amstelveen, Cobra museum from September 6th until December 31st; you can visit Kamagurka’s site here.
Tue, Sep 8, 2009
Comics and cartoons, From our Continental Correspondent