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Raised as the son of a farmer, physical work was commonplace for Lange and, influenced by his father’s Calvinist work ethics, he perceived it as dignifying. In 1974, following his studies of work in mines and factories in Britain, Lange documented agricultural activities in his home country and Spain. Unlike the previous works, these were divided in two sections – ‘Work’ and ‘Personalisation’ – documenting individuals in their working tasks and during their lunch breaks. As the title suggests, the latter were portraits of the workers (as in the accompanying black and white photographs), reflecting too Lange’s identification with these familiar subjects.

Darcy Lange, Cantavieja, Study of Work in a Spanish Village, Maestrazgo, Spain, Spain 1975, ¾ inch Umatic video transferred to digital, black and white, sound, 120 min (35 min selection) 

This study, conducted in the isolated Maestrazgo province, documented different farming activities under these titles: Ploughing with cows, Ploughing with mules, Ploughing with bulls, Scything greens, Family gathering greens, Scything wheat, Wheat gathering by mule, The village harvester and Shepherdess. The recordings were done over a week, but research covered five weeks. In the evening, Lange showed these video recordings to his participants.  This work featured in the magazine Studio International’s special issue dedicated to video (May/June 1976) in which Lange’s work was given a full page.

Scything wheat, 12 min
Wheat gathering by mule, 12 min
The village harvester, 11 min

Darcy Lange, Clem Coxhead, Study of Cow Milking in Opunake, Taranaki, New Zealand, New Zealand 1974, ¾ inch Umatic video transferred to digital, black and white, sound, 45 min (32 min selection)

The studies are made of two parts: ‘Work’ and ‘Personalisation’. It documents work activities such as the gathering, milking and herding of the cows back to the paddock, as well as leisure, Clem with his friends and family. Mount Taranaki features prominently in the background. It was shown in the exhibition Artist’s Video Tapes at Palais des Beaux-Arts in Brussels and at Art Fair in Köln, both in 1975. 

Darcy Lange, Ruatoria, Study of Sheep Gathering and a Māori Shearing Gang, East Coast, New Zealand, New Zealand 1974, ¾ inch Umatic video transferred to digital, sound, b/w, 161 min (39 min selection) 

This series was shot in the remote East Cape’s town of Ruatoria, a region with strong Māori heritage. Divided in two sections, Lange made studies of the farm manager and his stockman mustering and doing yard work, a shearing gang at work and during leisure time and finally the family of the shearing contractor building a ‘marae’ (family meeting place). The study Shearing ‘Pekama’ was shown in The Video Show at Serpentine Gallery in 1975.

Yard Work with George Haig & Oli, 12min
Fleeco, 7 min
Wool Press, 11 min
Shearing ‘Pekama’, 9 min 

Introduced by Mercedes Vicente, series curator

Darcy Lange: Enduring Time is supported by LUMA Foundation and Govett-Brewster Art Gallery. All works in this programme courtesy Govett-Brewster Art Gallery from material preserved and made available by Ngā Taonga Sound & Vision​.​