Author Description

In Holland, St. Nicholas has an assistant, Zwarte Piet - Black Pete - whose role is to give treats to good children and beatings to naughty boys and girls. Photographer Anna Fox takes over 20 color portraits of women and children dressed up in Black Pete's traditional garb, with blackened faces and red lips. The portraits, taken over a five-year period, trace a shift in Pete's image, from a threatening character to more of a clown, suggesting a sense of unease and ambiguity which surrounds his identity in contemporary Dutch culture. An essay by the Dutch writer Mieke Bal places the myth of Zwarte Piet in a broad historical and cultural context. Dimension: 10 x 12 inches, 20 color reproductions.