Paul McCarthy. Propo

Hauser & Wirth is delighted to present an exhibition of over 60 photographs by Paul McCarthy. This selection, many of which have only been seen before in publications, is taken from the artist's large group of more than 120 photographs, collectively known as 'PROPO'.

McCarthy's debased and dirtied photographic subjects have a unique history. They began as props in McCarthy's early performances, and in the early Eighties, they were packed into suitcases and trunks, which were then stacked on a table and re-invented as the sculpture 'Assortment, The Trunks, Human Object and PROPO Photographs' (1972 – 2003). The lids of the cases remained unopened until the early Nineties when McCarthy individually photographed each of the props, creating 'PROPO', a collection of documentation-style photographs and a record of his dark humour and subversive social critique. The 'PROPO' photographs highlight McCarthy's on-going re-visitation of his prolific oeuvre and his distinctive approach to his works: they are in a constant state of transformation.

Paul McCarthy
Propo