Urban Women 2005
by Francesca Verga
To coincide with the celebration of Women's month, the exhibition 'Urban Women 2005' opened at the African Art Centre on August 10. The event focused on the issues facing young women in post-colonial South Africa. However, my overall impression received was that this was simply a piggyback on the 'Women's Day' bandwagon that seems to have taken the country by storm of late.
Located in the Tourist Junction, the African Art Centre is a renowned space for the selling and exhibiting of more traditional and tourist-orientated art. Thus it was suprising to find the Centre hosting an exhibition of this kind with many of the artists actively involved in the contemporary art scene, having participated in the DAG's Red Eye Art event and exhibited at the KZNSA. Perhaps the contemporary nature of this show would have been better suited to a different space.
The exhibition layout was problematic and the absence of labels in some places made it difficult to identify works. The lightbox installations by Simmi Dullay were unplugged, and there were also works advertised on the exhibition's flyers that were not on show.
Whist viewing the show, someone asked me whether I 'got' (understood) the meaning behind the collection of plastic packets and pillows, taped with brown packaging tape to a wall. To be honest, I was unsure that this was indeed part of the exhibition at all. I was disappointed to find out that this was Dineo Bopape's creation. I have seen stronger, more convincing works from her, which have been more thoroughly thought out and not so haphazardly displayed.
Yvette Dunn's work focused on the search for identity and the placing of herself in relation to her family history. The works had no clear path definition and the range of media for this single artist was too broad for a collaborative show. I found the inclusion of so few of Zama Dunywa's works odd, and maybe an explanation about the inclusion of traditional references could have provided a more informed reading.
I was not convinced that Simmi Dullay had in any way considered the overall theme of women's identity in post-colonial South Africa, especially knowing that her work deals explicitly with ideas surrounding exile and dislocation. Her photographs were non-related and seemed to depict popular culture rather than dealing with the issue at hand.
The success of an exhibition relies not only on the artworks themselves, but also the arrangement/installation of the works as a whole. The partitioning of spaces for each artist in this case was annoying, as the show was meant to be a collaborative one, linking the works thematically. Lack of attention to detail, such as the absence of labeling, and the inclusion of works that were irrelevant and not quite up to standard made for a mediocre show.
Opened: August 10
The African Art Centre
1st Floor Tourist Junction, 160 Pine Street, Durban
Tel: (031) 304 7915
Email: anthea@afri-art.co.za
