William Kentridge (b. 1955, Johannesburg, South Africa)

Act IV, scene 7 from Ubu Tells the Truth

1996-97, aquatint, dry point and etching on soft ground, 25 x 30 cm, sheet 36 x 50cm.

Photo by William Kentridge Studio. Courtesy of the artist and William Kentridge Studio ©William Kentridge.

Ubu Roi was a mythical absurd tyrant. who Kentridge portrays as a split personality:  one side is a greedy, gluttonous king, whose cartoonish outline is drawn in white chalk; the other, the naked man, is modelled on Kentridge himself. Here, the terrified Ubu is being chased by a barking dog while the “artist” – who now appears in duplicate – cycles away in the opposite direction.

READ ABOUT THE BACKGROUND HERE…

This is one of eight darly funny etchings based on a theatre production called Ubu & The Truth Commission made by Kentridge’s studio in collaboration with the Handspring Puppet Company.  The production drew parallels between the hearings of the Commission and Ubu Roi, from an absurd late 19th century French play which caused an uproar and shaped later artistic movements such as Surrealism. 

Each of the etchings contrasts one of the episodes of Ubu’s ridiculous progress with the actions of the alter-ego figure as he tries to distance himself.  Is the alter-ego Kentridge himself?