Summary
In 1998 Neville Gabie travelled around the world taking photographs of different kinds of football pitches. These varied from makeshift poles erected on dusty plains to the sophisticated stadiums of capital cities. He published these photographs in a book called Posts (London 1999). In 1999 he was awarded the tenth Momart fellowship at Tate Liverpool, where he worked on a print series related to the Posts photographs. The result was the portfolio Playing Away which was displayed at Tate Liverpool at the end of his tenure.
Playing Away consists of twenty-four prints. The first twelve prints of the group show photographs of football pitches in South Africa. Many of the pitches are just a pair of wooden goalposts standing in undeveloped desert or mountain areas: the simplicity of the structures contrasting with the impressive scenery. Beneath the photographs Gabie has screenprinted the names of the locations and added notes about the condition and size of the pitch. To accompany the photograph of an arid pitch at Nqutu, Gabie notes: 'Pitch severely sloping and rutted and worn, particularly around the goalposts. Beware of grazing animals.' He adds 'Goalposts almost regulation size 7'… (read more)
Other works of art you may be interested in
