P·P·O·W is pleased to present Passenger, an exhibition of new work by George Boorujy. The exhibition will expand upon Boorujy’s ongoing exploration of North America through a series of strikingly life-like, ink on paper depictions of animals native to this continent. Drawing on the longstanding tradition of artists and naturalists composing highly realistic renderings of life on earth, Boorujy creates works that advance this practice, imbuing his subjects with human-like expression and encouraging a relationship between the work and the viewer. 

The subjects featured in the exhibition include a number of animals whose fate has been largely determined by the human population. Among the works on view will be three drawings of Passenger Pigeons. 2014 marks the 100 year anniversary of the extinction of this bird. Once the most numerous bird on the planet, its demise not only marked man’s impact on the planet, but also has the notorious distinction of being the first recording of an extinction in real time. Also on view will be a large-scale image of a horse, caught in a state of ecstasy on the ground. Horses evolved in North America but went extinct on their home continent before being reintroduced by the Spanish. Another species whose fate was dramatically altered by the human hand.  

Two images of humans will also be included in the show, a portrait of a woman whose ethnicity is intentionally obscured, and a portrait of Ota Benga, a Mbuti Pygmy man brought to the US for the St. Louis fair in 1904. Benga, born in the Congo and dying by suicide in Virginia, had a tragic yet unprecedented life infamously marked by being displayed for a time at the Bronx Zoo alongside a chimpanzee and orangutan, the implication being that he was less than human. The fact is that we all are, ultimately, animals.