Skip to Content
AbbotKinney2

South African born Artist / Photographer Ralph Ziman now calls Los Angeles home, and he presents his first show in the United States this weekend. "Ghosts" opens next Saturday at C.A.V.E. Gallery on Abbot Kinney at 6:30pm. He's put up a number of murals and wheatpastes around town drawn from the colorful and provocative imagery he'll show at the gallery. Keep reading for insight into the source of his images and some background info on Ziman.

AbbotKinney

Ghosts will feature a series of photographs, sculptures and installations produced during the artist’s collaboration with Zimbabwean street vendors on a series of handmade replica AK­47s. The street art you see above and below uses some of the same images to create a series street-focused murals that were also posted in South Africa.

Proceeds from Ghosts will go to Human Rights Watch.

AbbotKinney3
Venice Beach2
Venice Beach

Images from the Show. Opens Feb 8th at C.A.V.E.

Picture52
Picture40
Picture58

Ziman’s work challenges the tragic cliché of our times; a war torn, violent Africa of militant and corrupt dictators, child soldiers, and unceasing civil wars fed by a growing international arms trade. Intrigued by the duality of terror and worship that firearms hold in African culture, Ziman approached artisans working in the streets of Johannesburg to commission the infamous AK­47 rendered in traditional Shona style beading. Originating as a side project while Ziman was directing Kite (the Samuel L. Jackson backed anime adapted film, starring Jackson, India Eisley and Callan McAuliffe, to be released internationally in 2014), Ghosts developed into a six­month collaboration and multidisciplinary exhibition. The resulting work of over 200 hand beaded and wire wrapped guns, incorporated in installations and photographs of the men posing with them, confront the complex socio­economic and political circumstances of the African arms trade—a multinational, multibillion­dollar industry that moves in one direction only—into Africa.

The street vendors who Ziman photographs with their crafted prop AKs required no direction in how to pose with them, brandishing their guns with the swagger of rebels and rappers, the image of weapon in hand is as synonymous as the pledge of allegiance. Crates of guns to be installed throughout the gallery and on walls, point to the unrelenting presence of guns flowing into African countries trading their natural bounty for body counts. Ghosts, in poignant and powerful imagery, aims to confront this cycle by building global awareness of the international arms trade that profits on the suffering and oppression of millions of Africans.

Picture57
Picture22
Picture4
Picture6
Picture56
Picture27
Picture12

Stay in touch

Sign up for our free newsletter

More from L.A. TACO

Nine L.A. Restaurants That Will Do Thanksgiving For You, From Pupusas to ‘Chinese Turkey’

From 12-hour-roasted brisket in East L.A. to a Thai feast in Atwater and Chinatown’s famous Chinese Turkey, have a stress-free Thanksgiving and buy your dinner this season at these L.A. restaurants.

November 12, 2024

This Weekend: Thai-Salvadoran Sandwiches, Asado Negro Tacos, and New Westside Korean

Plus wild caught Maine lobster rolls, Guatemalan garnachas on a lake, and a favorite for tacos al vapor.

November 8, 2024

L.A.’s First Cochinita Pibil is Legendary and Still Amazing, 52 Years Later

“Cochinita is my fountain of youth,” jokes Marc Burgos, the second-generation owner of this pioneering panaderia. At 50 years old, he is younger than his father’s pioneering Yucatán bakery, the first in L.A. to offer cochinita pibil tacos. 

November 7, 2024

The 24 Best Tacos Al Pastor, Adobada, and Árabes In Los Angeles

Is al pastor L.A.'s official taco? Judging by the sheer amount of crispy-edged trompos dotted around every single corner of this beautiful city, we can certainly make that argument. Here is our vetted list that took us nearly two decades to compile. ¡Provecho!

November 7, 2024

Pan Afrikan Peoples Arkestra Director Seeks Donations to Avoid Losing Childhood Home in Leimert Park

After Session’s landlord “abruptly” served him with a 60 day notice earlier this month, “for no other reason than wanting to sell the property,” Session decided his best chance of staying in the house would be to buy it.

November 6, 2024
See all posts