Archive: Issue No. 54, Februray 2002

20.02.02 Ulric Roldanus and Michael Croeser at the NSA
20.02.02 'The Truth about Tibet' about the NSA
20.02.02 Ellis 'n Bheki at the NSA Gallery
06.02.02 'Episodes' at Durban Art Gallery
06.02.02 KwaZulu-Natal Schools Art Exhibition 2002
06.02.02 Kenneth Mazibuko at the BAT Centre
30.01.02 Severino Braccialarge and David Lloyd at the NSA

13.02.02 'Fibre Works' at Tatham Art Gallery

In the main gallery, Ulric Roldanus from the Netherlands presents 'The Road', an exhibition that engages with the idea of being on the road and moving. Artist-in-residence at the Technikon Natal for the past six weeks, Roldanus is based in Amsterdam but references his childhood in the Cameroon. The exhibition comprises work produced during his residency in Durban as well as works shipped from home.

Utilising a variety of media, the show will centre on installations of photographs, ceramics, maps and found materials that attempt to unravel the links and relations between Roldanus's "African" background and his European experiences as a travelling and working artist. Speaking of the dirt roads leading towards the village where he grew up, Roldanus says, "I always remember these red tracks full of dust cutting through the deep green landscape. When it rains these roads turns into nonnegotiable mud trenches, the colour which is referenced in most of my work." For additional information on the artist see www.roldanus.com.

On the mezzanine Durban-based Michael Croeser shows five large-scale charcoal drawings produced in the past two years. These hard-edged monochrome works were developed from small-scale collages depicting contradictory and unrelated elements, crude and absurd pastiches of images and meanings culled from an archive of old magazines, postcards and comic art (mass media debris of sorts). These collages have been meticulously drawn and look like huge high-contrast photocopies from a distance.

Croeser's sensibility is anarchic and melancholic. He is influenced by dreams and daydreams and get his ideas sometimes sitting around doing nothing. He states: "I don't read the papers or watch television or pay much attention to current media or trends, except for browsing through magazines at CNA at closing time." Although Croeser states that the "images speak for themselves", he acts as an interpreter seeking meaning in the barrage of imagery surrounding us. For additional information, see www.redmenace.za.net/croeser.

Opening: February 26 at 6pm
Closing: March 17

NSA Gallery, 166 Bulwer Road, Glenwood
Tel: (031) 202 3686
Fax: (031) 202 3744
Email: iartnsa@mweb.co.za
Website: www.nsagallery.co.za
Hours: Tues - Fri 10am - 5pm, Sat 10am - 4pm, Sun 11am - 3pm

In the NSA's Park Gallery, 'The Truth about Tibet' is a powerful photographic exhibition organised by the Tibet Society of South Africa. This collection of photographs was donated by various human rights organisations and the Tibet government-in-exile. It gives the viewer a rare glimpse into the Tibet that China does not want the world to see. The photos reflect the destruction of Tibet's environment, the oppression of its people and the gradual but ruthless eradication of their culture and religion.

Coinciding with the exhibition, a special commemorative event will be held on March 10 at 2.30pm to honour those Tibetans who died in the Tibetan National Uprising in 1959. Seven days after this uprising, the 14th Dalai Lama, Tibet's spiritual and temporal leader, was forced to flee into exile. The Chinese military retaliated with brute force, resulting in the massacre of thousands of Tibetan men, woman and children. Jampal Chosang, His Holiness the Dalai Lama's Representative for Africa and the Middle East, will be the guest speaker. For more information contact Renato Palmi on 083 943 0235.

Opening: February 26 at 6pm
Closing: March 17

NSA Gallery, 166 Bulwer Road, Glenwood
Tel: (031) 202 3686
Fax: (031) 202 3744
Email: iartnsa@mweb.co.za
Website: www.nsagallery.co.za
Hours: Tues - Fri 10am - 5pm, Sat 10am - 4pm, Sun 11am - 3pm

Well-known Durban performers Ellis Pearson and Bheki Mkhwane will perform at the NSA Gallery for one weekend of the month for the next three months. They aim to create a dynamic performance area incorporating both the sloping lawns and the restaurant area, and to invite musicians and other artists whose work enhances the spirit of their African outdoor theatre.

The first 'Ellis 'n Bheki' NSA experiences will be from February 22-24 when they will perform Big Udder. The second weekend will be March 29-31 when they will perform their all-time favourite Boy Called Rubbish, and on April 26-28 they'll present a brand new piece commissioned by the Grahamstown Festival

Tickets are available at the NSA shop at R40 for adults and R20 for children. Inquiries to Sue at 082 882 9869 or clarence@icon.co.za.

NSA Gallery, 166 Bulwer Road, Glenwood

Having just completed a successful run at the Tatham 'Episodes', an installation of puppets by the Handspring Puppet Company, is opening at the Durban Art Gallery. Featuring work from seven productions over sixteen years it promises a fascinating insight into the production side of specialised theatre.

The original focus of the Handspring Puppet Company, founded in 1981, was the creation of new South African theatre for children but in the back of their minds the company felt there was space to develop an adult audience for the puppets.

In 1985 the production 'Episodes of an Easter Rising' delighted adult audiences and the press and exposure to international theatre for the puppets at the Seventh International Festival of Puppet Theatre in Charleville-Mzzier's increased resolve to work for adults. The rich theatre life of Johannesburg during the eighties and nineties provided opportunities for the company to work with top South African directors, such as William Kentridge, provoking new and challenging developments in the way Handspring Puppet Company made and worked with puppets.

Handspring Puppet Company is now in its 22nd year and run by Adrian Kohler and Basil Jones. The company is currently based in Kalk Bay and provides an artistic base for a core group of performers, designers, theatre artists and technicians who collaborate on a project basis.

Nearly all the figures on this exhibition (with the exception of the petticoats from Starbrites!) represent productions that have been seen at and sponsored by the Standard Bank National Festival of the Arts in Grahamstown.

Opening: February 13
Closing: March 31

Durban Art Gallery, 2nd floor, City Hall, Smith Street
Tel: (031) 311 2262
Fax: (031) 311 2273
Website: www.durban.gov.za/museums/artgallery/index.htm
Hours: Mon - Sat 8.30am - 4pm, Sun 11am - 4pm

KZN students strut their stuff in the annual KwaZulu-Natal Schools Art Exhibition. Showcasing a wide range of art, craft and design produced last year by senior learners in the province's state schools, the exhibition always attracts a large audience from the education sector and the general public.

The basis of the senior art course at schools remains observational drawing. The finest of these drawings show remarkable powers of observation and a high level of technical skill. Apart from such traditional abilities there is an increased emphasis on applied craft represented by fabric printing, fashion and jewellery design, while interest in contemporary media such as digital design is also evident. Also on display will be highly creative examples of wearable art made out of waste materials and a whole range of other non-traditional media borne out of a need for art educators to be resourceful when faced with cash-strapped budgets.

Given the current climate of cutting back, it is commendable that this yearly show continues to inspire a large and appreciative following in celebration of youthful artistic endeavour and creativity.

Opening: February 13
Closing: March 31

Durban Art Gallery, 2nd floor, City Hall, Smith Street
Tel: (031) 311 2262
Fax: (031) 311 2273
Website: www.durban.gov.za/museums/artgallery/index.htm
Hours: Mon - Sat 8.30am - 4pm, Sun 11am - 4pm

Young, self-taught artist Kenneth Mazibuko shows oil paintings on board in 'Dlinza nge Africa' ('Think About Africa'), his first solo exhibition. Ranging from still-lifes to landscapes and portraits, his work focuses on the everyday lives of the African people, their cultures and how important it is to preserve them.

Opening: February 8 at 6pm
Closing: March 8

Democratic Gallery, BAT Centre, 45 Maritime Place, Small Craft Harbour
Tel: (031) 332 0451 (curator Njabulo Hlongwane)
Fax: (031) 332 2213
Email: info@batcentre.co.za
Website: www.batcentre.co.za
Hours: Mon - Fri 9am - 5pm, Sat - Sun 9am - 4.30pm

Two new exhibitions open at the NSA on February 5. The main gallery contains recent sculptures by Severino Braccialarge. Born and educated in Italy, Braccialarge has for many years been living between South Africa and Pietrasanta, Italy, where he trained in marble carving and bronze castings. Braccialarge took up full-time sculpture in 1982 after a successful career in architecture and interior design. His work marries European influences with an African context, Following the demands of his medium his chisel follows the grain and colours of the imported Italian marble to create organic forms reminiscent of pre-historic images: beaks, horns, claws and wings.

In this exhibition Severino will also display new works as part of his 'Functional Art Project'. Making unusual furniture pieces, derived from his earlier organic sculptures developed a couple of years ago, the pieces are created in wood, aluminium, marble and glass. Each piece serves as a functional element, such as a chair or table, in the daily environment.

In the Mezzanine and Park Galleries David Lloyd will be exhibiting paintings titled 'Dear Diary'. Quoting Nash, Hopper and Bacon as references and points of inspiration, Lloyd's work is overtly whimsical and naïve. Lloyd lets the commonplace be seen in isolation - allowing it to become significant and important. The paintings are visual notations of lived experiences, ranging from the odd and scary to the funny and sublime. Utilising oil on board, his subject matter is the sights and sites of Durban, showing a preoccupation with the urban jungle seen from a speeding car or imagined during a daydream.

Lloyd has been living and working in Durban since 1975. A self-taught artist with no formal art training, Lloyd exhibited for the first time in 1979 during an NSA New Signatures exhibition. He received third prize and since then has had no other exposure. This is his first solo exhibition.

Opening: February 5 at 6pm
Closing: February 25

NSA Gallery, 166 Bulwer Road, Glenwood
Tel: (031) 202 3686
Fax: (031) 202 3744
Email: iartnsa@mweb.co.za
Website: www.nsagallery.co.za
Hours: Tues - Fri 10am - 5pm, Sat 10am - 4pm, Sun 11am - 3pm

Fibre Works, a countrywide organisation for fibre artists, is bringing its members' most innovative and challenging works to Pietermaritzburg for this exhibition. Since its inception in the 1960s fibre art has continued to flourish, bringing to the fore the arts of sewing, quilting and needlework that are traditionally associated with women. Engaging in some unexpected gender role reassessment in the States where it was apparent that there were many highly skilled men interested in the arena, fibre art challenged ideas on what constituted "serious" artmaking. Working in cotton, wool, plastic, paper, leather, grass and wire, local artists stretch the possibilities of their media while making work that draws on cultural traditions from around the globe.

Opening: February 12
Closing: March 17

Tatham Art Gallery, corner Longmarket Street and Commercial Road
Tel: (033) 342 1804/01
Hours: Tues - Sun 10am - 6pm