The head serves as a mirror of the whole history of art: its significance and the way it is represented have changed constantly over the ages. One wonders what in fact, after the combined ingenuity of centuries, is left in the subject for contemporary artists to explore, since the head was so radically reinvented during…
Little excites me more than a well-curated group show because they harness the ability to communicate a specific theme through the eyes of multiple artists. Bathini Abafazi? is one such example of a group show that manages to successfully bring together the work of multiple artists showcasing their pure talent, and the ability of well-curated artworks…
It is far too often that artists still find themselves on the margins, overlooked by the art world. As a remedy to this, the Joburg Fringe began as a way to highlight and showcase the amazing works coming out of Southern Africa by artists who have been previous overlooked or are up and coming. This…
“To be pierced is to be attached, serving a purpose that hurts but binds.” Reads the line accompanying Sahlah Davids’ body of work Pierced as it explores ideas of the artist’s cultural identity and the intersection between religion and politics. Pierced is a body of work distinct in many ways. To me, it stands as…
“Within this burning planet has always existed another world, and the struggle to realise it,” says Nolan Oswald Dennis. The logic of colonial cosmology insists on the universality of the Western world: a planet rendered as private property, as social violence, as deliberate crisis. Occupying the same space and time as the colonial planet are…
Reaching the milestone of 20 years as a dancer this year, performance artist Llewellyn ‘LuluBelle’ Mnguni takes to the stage alongside photographic artist Travys Owen to exhibit Resilience, a “true and complicated story of Mnguni as a South African born and raised man who dealt with the Setswana cultural dealings and restrictions in a fast-growing…
“We need to ask ourselves if the world around us is being made in our image and if it isn’t, whose image is it made of? And how do we start to make our own?” Sumayya Vally Led by founder Sumayya Vally, the architectural studio Counterspace, was commissioned to design the acclaimed Serpentine Pavilion (2021)….
“The essence of Moonshine came out of parties we used to throw in our kitchens. We felt like we couldn’t go out and find what we had cooked up in our kitchen. It’s one of the reasons we started Moonshine, to share that with more people who felt like us, and who didn’t have access…
The relationship between art and pop culture is mutually beneficial. The two exist parallel to each other, constantly in dialogue. This relationship itself has influenced many artists and their practices, resulting in some of the most visually striking work ever seen. Works such as those by rug artist Henry Hamilton exist at the intersection of…
For decades, artists have been welcoming us into alternate worlds that they have created. Worlds that allow them to have a moment of reflection upon their life experiences, how they view themselves and the kind of worlds they are trying to forge through the beauty of self-portraits. I’m talking about worlds created by the likes…
…drape a white cloth around your waist and remember to cover your shoulder and head Prepare a glass of water and intsu Kneel on the straw mat Light a white candle and burn iMphepho Ngwana Badimo, speak… Words by a ‘voice’ that announces itself and speaks through Lerato Lodi’s Kopano; “a rush of spontaneous watercolour…
Contemporary African fashion is often a dialogue between the so-called modern and traditional. Under this postcolonial umbrella, contemporary Africans have to walk a thin line between the Western and globalised while trying to hold onto a distant history and disappearing tradition. Tinyiko Makwakwa’s work is interesting in this regard as she looks past this dialogue…
