David Zwirner Gallery is currently hosting Stan Douglas: The Enemy of All Mankind, running from September 12th to October 26th, 2024, at its West 19th Street location in New York. This marks Douglas‘ eighteenth solo exhibition with the gallery and features his latest series of nine photographs. Titled The Enemy of All Mankind: Nine Scenes from John Gay’s Polly, the series reimagines scenes from the 1729 comic opera Polly by English playwright John Gay.
The images use the opera’s narrative to explore contemporary themes such as race, class, gender, and media. The story follows Polly Peachum, who ventures to the West Indies to find her estranged husband, Captain Macheath, who has disguised himself as a Black pirate. Throughout the series, Douglas visually captures the complexities of the opera’s characters, from colonial settlers to pirates and local indigenous populations, as they navigate power dynamics and social tensions.
This exhibition offers a thought-provoking lens on historical narratives, reframing them through a modern perspective. The Enemy of All Mankind invites viewers to engage with enduring societal issues through Douglas’ striking visual storytelling.
Act I, Scene V: In which Polly Peachum is Greeted at the Ducat Estate by Family Friend Diana Trapes, who will Ultimately Betray Her, 2024
Act I, Scene XI: In which Polly Comes to Understand that Mrs. Trapes has Sold Her to Mr. Ducat as a Courtesan, 2024
Act I, Scene XIV: In which Polly, with the Help of Damaris, Convinces Mrs. Ducat to Punish Her Husband by Granting Her Her Freedom, 2024
Act III, Scene VII: In which the pirate Morano (aka Captain Macheath) challenges, and is vanquished by, the Maroon Queen Pohetohee from the series, The Enemy of All Mankind: Nine Scenes from John Gay’s Polly (1729), 2024
Overture: In which Convicted Brigand Captain Macheath is Transported to the West Indies Where He will be Impressed into Indentured Labour, 2024
Act I, Scene VIII: In which Mr. Ducat Argues to Mrs. Ducat that Polly has been Hired as Her Personal Maid while She Suspects Polly will be his Live-In Mistress, 2024
