Lot 36 Girma Berta, Moving Shadows V
Lot 36 Girma Berta, Moving Shadows VIII
Girma Berta (Ethiopian, born 1990)
Moving Shadows V, 2015 and Moving Shadows VIII, 2016
Signed ‘signature‘ (lower right) with certificate of authenticity
Both edition 5/7 photographic print on textured archival paper
40 x 40 cm each
Ksh 270,000-320,000
(US$ 2,500-3,000)
Sold Ksh 446,120
Provenance: direct from the artist through Addis Fine Art Gallery
Girma Berta is an award-winning young artist based in Addis Ababa, whose work fuses street photography with fine art.
In Berta’s Moving Shadows series, solitary figures are juxtaposed against vibrant backgrounds, creating unique artworks which exemplify the contrasting colours and personalities on the street of his home town. Berta’s use of the digital medium to produce and present his artworks is a commentary on the digital revolution which is underway across Africa. Berta describes the motivation behind his work as a wish to capture “the beautiful, the ugly and all that is in between”. His images delve deep into the inhabitants of the city, offering his remarkable interpretation.
Berta’s Moving Shadows series received the 2016 Getty Images Instagram Award and his work has been featured in The Guardian, Okay Africa, Design Indaba and Art Africa and exhibited at Bamako Photo Fest, 2015, PhotoVille NY, 2015 and 2016, Look Festival NY, 2016, 1:54 Contemporary Art Fair, London, 2016 and AKAA Art Fair Paris, 2016.