'365 South Africa'

Alison McKay’s first solo exhibition, '365 South Africa', is on show at ArtSpace in Johannesburg. McKay’s work largely draws inspiration from the opinions and actions of the ordinary person in the streets of South Africa - their energy and need to survive.

Explaining '365 South Africa' McKay says, 'We see, we do, we say, every day. We are all doing it, just with varying degrees of commitment and via diverse means -but do we remember or are they just repetitive actions or words, often offered subconsciously?  Days and months drift by, and then we hang a new calendar. If we don’t write about every precious day in a diary, how do we propose to appreciate or at least acknowledge a year of life?'

'Disaster strikes a nation, "so-and-so" dies. I remember where I was when I heard the news but am I capable of remembering, or even willing to?'

For the entire year of 2011, Alison McKay set out to create one 20x20cm painting each day, illustrating a news headline for the day. She documented her progress in an interactive online blog (365southafrica@blogspot.com). McKay’s work is largely figurative and graphic and located within an urban aesthetic.

Says McKay, 'Word-of-mouth, newspapers, television, radio, internet; dozens of news captions consume my mind’s eye with every glance. There is no shortage of inspiration yet I battle to focus. Each day’s "headline-of-choice" offers clues to my mood, my fascination in that moment'.

11 April - 11 May