A glimpse into the story behind the film: the iconic Peacock Chair was originally created in forced prison labor in the Philippines, became a model for Western designers, and was repeatedly used in portrait photography—including by founding member of the Black Panther Party Huey P. Newton
Photos of peacock, Germany, late 1980s/early 1990s © Archive James Gregory Atkinson
Excerpt from catalogue of products of the Industrial Division of Bilibid Prison, author: Philippines, Department of Justice, Bureau of Prisons, 1917
Excerpt from catalogue of products of the Industrial Division of Bilibid Prison, author: Philippines, Department of Justice, Bureau of Prisons, 1917
Excerpt from catalogue of products of the Industrial Division of Bilibid Prison, author: Philippines, Department of Justice, Bureau of Prisons, 1917
Excerpt from catalogue of products of the Industrial Division of Bilibid Prison, author: Philippines, Department of Justice, Bureau of Prisons, 1917
Excerpt from catalogue of products of the Industrial Division of Bilibid Prison, author: Philippines, Department of Justice, Bureau of Prisons, 1917
Bilibid Prison, looking north, Manila, Philippines, 1940 © War Department, Army Air Forces, US National Archives, photo: John Tewell
Left: Kok Maison, “Emmanuelle” Wicker Chair, ca. 1970, Photo: Neven Allgeier for James Gregory Atkinson; right: Hans Wegner, The Peacock, PP550, 1947
Left: First known image of the Peacock Chair, “El Paso Herald,” 1914; right: Huey Newton, Black Panther Minister of Defense, Blair Stapp for the Black Panther Party 1968, Source: Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture