MEN STANDING NEXT TO is part of a series of publications that reframe the colonial archive of the British Museum. The title derives from the image descriptions available in the collection website. I selected glass negatives photographed by Alfred Percival Maudslay between 1890-1894 in ancient Maya archaeological sites in Guatemala and Honduras. Maudslay (1850-1931), referred to as 'Thefather of Maya Archaeology,' was a British colonial administrator and archaeologist who carried out extensive expeditions int he Maya area of Central America. 

The men in the photos are locals whose identity isn't credited by the museum which owns their images. These individuals were turned into passive objects that make the scale of the ancient Maya structures visible in the photos.

Author: Igor Arume
Year: 2024
Pages: 14
Dimensions: 25.5 x 10 cm
Cover: Softcover