Archive: Issue No. 126, February 2008

10.02.08 Michael MacGarry at KZNSA
10.02.08 'Little Traveller' at the Durban Art Gallery
10.02.08 'Then and Now' at the Durban Art Gallery
10.02.08 'Isis X' at KZNSA
10.02.08 Mbhekeni Mbili at the KZNSA
10.02.08 Sarah Richards at artSPACE durban

13.01.08 'Members' exhibition at the KZNSA Gallery
13.01.08 'Light Show' at the Bank Gallery
13.01.08 Deryck Healey at artSPACE
13.01.08 KZN Matric Schools Exhibition at the Durban Art Gallery

For 'True/Story', Michael MacGarry presents a series of artifacts, sculptures and props included in his recent films and photographs. His work investigates the ongoing ramifications of Western imperialism within the African continent. Of particular concern are the mechanics of control and vested interest that inform the journey of culturally symbolic languages and products from the so-called 'centre' to the 'periphery' (and vice-versa). Of special interest to MacGarry are the established global trade routes that define and manipulate the peripheral context through an insidious process of inclusion and exclusion.

MacGarry is a visual artist, graphic designer and copywriter based in Johannesburg. A BFA (Hons) graduate from Technikon Natal, and holding an MFA from the University of Witwatersrand, MacGarry has exhibited at a national and international level for several years and, in this capacity, is owner of ww.alltheorynopractice.com. MacGarry is also a founder member of art collective Avant Car Guard, who have also exhibited extensively at national and international levels, recently presenting a solo exhibition at The Pure Project in New York City. As a writer MacGarry has published in several local magazines and recently co-published, with Lloyd Gedye, a limited edition magazine titled The Pavement Special.

Opens: February 12
Closes: March 9

In an exhibition curated by Paula Thomas, 'Little Traveller' centres around the beaded dolls created as part of Hillcrest Aids Centre's Woza Moya project, an income generation project to assist men and women affected or infected by HIV/Aids.

The crafters were given 100 disposable cameras by Tudor Photographics (Cape Town) in order to document their lives. The photos resulting from this provide an insight into the private lives and homes of the people affected by the pandemic. They give a face to the illness and make us realise that life goes on despite the hardships under which many South Africans are living.

Opens: February 7
Closes: March 30

Works by eight prominent South African documentary photographers will be on exhibition at the Durban Art Gallery from February 14. 'Then and Now' comprises photographs taken both before and after South Africa's transition to democracy.

The exhibition curated by and featuring Paul Weinberg, includes works by David Goldblatt, George Hallett, Eric Miller, Cedric Nunn, Guy Tillim, Graeme Williams and 'Giséle' Wulfsohn. Almost all of the contributors were members of Afrapix, the collective photo agency that played a pioneering role in documenting the struggle against apartheid in the 1980s and early 1990s.

Explaining the idea behind the project, Weinberg states, 'During the 1980s, the overriding priority of South African documentary photographers was to record the political conflict in their society, and more personal forms of photographic expression were kept in the background. The transition to democracy freed them to explore other, less political subjects, broaden the scope of their work beyond South Africa's borders, and re-examine their approach to photography. The purpose of this project is to record the contrasts and the continuities between their earlier and later work. The result is a fascinating record of a country in conflict, and then in a state of rediscovery. But the contrast between the earlier and later images is not absolute, and a number of the post-1994 photographs cast an equally critical light on the post-apartheid order.'

A third element of the project is a video documentary made by the television producer Roger Lucey, featuring interviews with the contributing photographers in which they comment on their careers and the theme of the project. Extracts from the interviews will be used in the exhibition, and are also included in the accompanying book, which will be on sale at the exhibition.

Opens: February 14
Closes: March 23

'Isis X' combines, in an intriguingly visceral format, the intensity of the photographic image with the explosive poetic word. By showing these two media side by side, and by drawing on diverse political situations and forms of language, the exhibition explores South African life experiences with a passion that lays bare the changing truths of our psychologies and societies. It is this dynamic interaction that sets the cornerstone of this exhibition of only women and by only women.

Based on the book by the same name (edited and curated by Allan Kolski Horwitz), 'Isis X' marks an exciting new direction for South African interdisciplinary creative growth. Publishers Botsotso note that 'Such an openly women-only venture might attract projections of stereotyped feminism or effeminate style; however, neither is valid concerning this intelligent, varied, yet ultimately coherent collection. Ostensibly the biggest challenge in putting together an anthology of such size is attempting to create a sense of unity and congruency while maintaining the clarity and strength of each unique voice, and Isis X manages this very well.'

The compiled texts and visual images range from humorous personal insights to poignant social observations to spirited expressions of anger and hope.

The opening on February 12 features poetry performances by Bongekile Mbanjwa, Mphutlane wa Bofelo, Allan Kolski Horwitz and Zorro, and musical interventions by Veranda Panda and Ewok.

Participating photographers are Neo Ntsoma, Suzy Bernstein, Riana Wiechers and Anna Varney. Participating poets are Elsbeth E, Sumeera Dawood, Lisemelo Tlale, Elizabeth Trew, Anet Kemp, Baitse Mokiti, Myesha Jenkins, Arja Salafranca, Makhosazana Xaba, Riana Wiechers, Bongekile Mbanjwa and Anna Varney.

On February 15 at 5.30pm, an event investigating the links between the image and the word, through discussions by Nontobeko Ntombela, Hannah Lurie and Allan Kolski Horwitz, and performances by poets Julia Glenday, Tumelo Khoza, Rose Mokhosi, Rene Stevenson and Mari Pete, takes place.

Opens: February 12
Closes: March 9

Mbhekeni Mbili produces work that uses the modernist language of 'township art' to explore contemporary issues of globalisation. One of the finalists in the 'Start: The Nivea Art Award 2007' (an award for emerging artists co-ordinated by the KZNSA Gallery and supported by Beiersdorf), Mbili's work has rapidly become sought-after in both local and international markets. In this, his first solo exhibition, Mbili examines the possible effects of the 2010 Soccer World cup within his home and social environment.

Mbili writes that, 'Some of my fondest memories of my early childhood days were the times my brothers, my late dad and myself played soccer in the park, creating a life-long passion for soccer. Soccer gave me the means to express myself and allowed me to release tension. It transported me to another world where I only focused on the soccer ball and my interaction with my teammates. Soccer provided me with a sense of belonging, yet allowed me to retain my individuality. We did not need to hang out at nightclubs and movie theatres, we provided our own entertainment with soccer.'

About his artwork, Mbili writes that, 'I want my paintings to create an atmosphere where the world becomes receptive to us and supports our land and its people, and realizes we have much to offer, despite all the negative reports generated about South Africa. I want to send a message of hope and joy by portraying the humility and endurance of the South African people by means of my work.'

Opens: February 12
Closes: March 9

'Forward' is Sarah Richards' exhibition towards her MAFA in painting. Richards' body of work shows the complex layering of her experience with the creative process of art production.

The artist's decision to pursue a Master's degree stems from her experience of 'artist's block'. Levels of fear and apprehension essentially blocked her creative process, and the works on exhibition illustrate this struggle between that which flows and that which hinders this journey.

Opens: February 18
Closes: March 8

An annual event, anticipated by many and supported by even more, the KZNSA Members' Exhibition is scheduled for January 22 to February 10. The submission dates are January 17 to 19. The theme is identity, which provides a rich and exciting challenge for the artist to try to capture a fluidity - this constant conversation, this multiple flow of the construction of meaning, this simultaneous existence and manifestation of a myriad of possibilities - using the tool of the visual. For further information or an entry form, please contact Ida Heydenrych at the KZNSA Gallery.

Opens: January 22
Closes: February 10

'Light Show' is a curated exhibition, which looks at the exploration of light as both medium and metaphor. Artists were asked to create work specifically for the show, each choosing to work within their own conceptual parameters. The show includes works by Siemon Allen, Stephen Hobbs, Simon Jacques, Vaughn Sadie, Greg Streak, Bronwen Vaughan-Evans, Jeremy Wafer, and James Webb. The show acts as a form of introduction to those artists Bank Gallery plans to show later on in the year. The artists explore a variety of media, from photography to video, painting and installation.

This exhibition is a thoughtful look at light beyond its primary function: illumination. We are so familiar with the medium that we often don't realise the impact it has on our reality. We only see it as a functional object: security light, reading lamp, advertising billboard or car head lamp. In 'Light Show' light is used as both a formal and metaphorical device, asking the viewer to reflect and question their relationship to the world around them. This is a world that comprises physical and emotional attachment to object, space and people. All of these are at some point mediated by light, either artificial or natural.

Opens: January 24
Closes: February 21

'Deryck saw each of his individual artworks as fragments of a complete picture made up of the visual poems he created on his journey through life. The Micrographs is a series of paintings that he made as a direct response to Charles Eames' film the Power of Ten which illustrates a sleeping man at a picnic. The film takes the viewer on a journey out to the edge of space and then back into a carbon atom in the hand of the man at the picnic, all in a single shot. When looking at the paintings the artist wanted us to wonder whether we are looking at the atom or at space, he wanted us to consider our part in the world, where are we in the grand scheme of things?' - Jeremy Wiltshire

Opens: January 28
Closes: February 16

The annual KZN Schools Exhibition will be held at the Durban Art Gallery from January 31 until March 30. The exhibition will feature selected works from Grade 12 pupils around the province. The show comprises a wide range of artworks in many different media and is consistently popular with both older and younger viewers alike.

For more information contact Jannie Van Heerden on (031) 327 0911 or 327 0273.

Opens: January 31
Closes: March 30