About the work

The central element in this collage is an image of The Himmelheber Master (Ivory Coast, 19th century), an African sculpture of a seated male figure holding a cup. It is juxtaposed with a word puzzle and a found image of a waterfall hidden behind it. The African sculpture is named after the German anthropologist and promoter of African Art, Hans Himmelheber, who collected the work in 1933. Concepts of time, culture, interpretation and meaning conflate in the composition, which stands somewhere between figuration and abstraction.

Date and country of birth

1974, GB

About the artist

Born 1974 UK, Simon Moretti lives and works in London.

Moretti is an artist whose work deals with context and display through the use of appropriated images and archives. Through curating, editing and publishing his work references art history, psychoanalytic and cultural theory. In his recent practice Moretti has explored the idea of collage both in individual works or larger collaborative projects.

Selected projects include CROCODILE CRADLE, PEER London (2021); The Enigma of the Hour: 100 Years of Psychoanalytic Thought, Freud Museum, London (2019); Dadadandy Boutique, ARTPROJX SPACE, London (2008); Le Palais des Etoiles, Selfridges, London (2007); Space is the Place, Ritter Zamett, London (2006); and EXPO 21: Strategies of Display, Angel Row Gallery, Nottingham and Mead Gallery, Coventry (2004). Selected exhibitions include None of the Above, Kanal-Centre Pompidou, Brussels (2020); To Be Free is to Loose Sight of the Shore, Archaeology of the Final Decade, Dhaka Art Summit (2018); The Camera Exposed, works from the collection, Victoria and Albert Museum, London (2016); Revolt of the Sage, Blain Southern, London (2016); L’Intime, Le Collectioneur Derrier la Porte, La Maison Rouge, Paris (2011); The Art Parade, Deitch Projects, New York (2007); The Sleep of Ulro, Liverpool Biennial 06 (2006); Thank You for the Music, Sprueth Magers, Munich/London (2005); From A to B and Back Again, Galerie Chez Valentin, Paris (2005); and None of the Above, Swiss Institute, New York (2004).

Awards include the Selfridges Commission as part of Surreal Things in collaboration with the Victoria & Albert Museum, London (2007); the Fondazione Teseco commission, Pisa (2006); the Henry Moore Institute Award (2002); the Art Council of England Artist Award (2002); and Tate Modern Turbine Hall commission (2000).