Jono Rotman

Thanks to the Images Vevey Book Award 2017/2018 Jono Rotman released the outcome of his unprecedented artistic research about the Mongrel Mob, a historical New Zealand gang. For almost ten years, the pho-tographer immersed himself in the daily lives of its members who, by appropriating symbols and dress codes from the British Empire and the Nazi regime, defy the establishment and question the notion of racial identity in this former colony. Mixing portraits, archival documents and interviews, Mongrelism recounts the cohesion and richness of a marginalized subculture within a dominant culture. Exhibited under Vevey’s covered market square, the installation brought these outlaws back into the heart of society.

Thanks to the Images Vevey Book Award 2017/2018 Jono Rotman released the outcome of his unprecedented artistic research about the Mongrel Mob, a historical New Zealand gang. For almost ten years, the pho-tographer immersed himself in the daily lives of its members who, by appropriating symbols and dress codes from the British Empire and the Nazi regime, defy the establishment and question the notion of racial identity in this former colony. Mixing portraits, archival documents and interviews, Mongrelism recounts the cohesion and richness of a marginalized subculture within a dominant culture. Exhibited under Vevey’s covered market square, the installation brought these outlaws back into the heart of society.