Eunice ‘Tshidi’ Sefako

b.1962, Smithville, Free State; d.2021

Eunice ‘Tshidi’ Sefako was one of a small number of Black South African women artists that emerged in South Africa during the 1980s. She was associated with the Community Arts Project (CAP) where she excelled in painting, printing and ceramic sculpture. Sefako taught art for many years, initially in townships under CAP’s Children’s Art Programme, and later on, for many years, to kids with intellectual disabilities.

Education

1985–1987: Community Arts Project (CAP), Cape Town.
1990: Course for Cultural Workers (setting up Community-based arts organisations), Community Arts Project (CAP), Cape Town.

Group Exhibitions (South Africa)

2022: When Rain Clouds Gather: Black South African Women Artists, 1940–2000, Norval Foundation, Cape Town.
2012: Uncontained: Opening the Community Arts Project archive, ArtB, Belville, Cape Town; Iziko South African National Gallery, Cape Town.

Group Exhibitions (International)

1990: Group Mural Painting, Institute of Contemporary Arts (ICA), London.

Publications

2020: Mario Pissarra, "The Community Arts Project: legacies and limitations of an arts centre," Third Text Africa 12 (August 2020): 33–53.
2013: Mario Pissarra, "Uncontained? The constraints of ahistoricism in the ‘opening’ of the Community Arts Project archive at the Centre for Humanities Research," Third Text Africa 3, no. 1 (November, 2013): 56–85.
2012: Heidi Grunebaum and Emile Maurice (eds), Uncontained: Opening the Community Arts Project archive, (Cape Town: Centre for Humanities Research, University of the Western Cape, 2012).
1989: Gavin Younge, Art of the South African Townships, (New York: Rizzoli, 1989)

Cultural Work & Employment

late 1980s, early 1990s: Children's Art Programme, Community Arts Project, Cape Town.
1995: ‘mural’ commission from CAPAB (later Artscape) to serve as a fire curtain for opera stage (with Trish de
Villers, Sophie Peters, Xolile Mtakatya, and Matshabalala Mkonto)
Set Painting, Artscape Theatre, Cape Town.
Art Teacher, Athlone School for the Blind, Cape Town.
Art teacher, Molenbeek Special Education School, Maitland, Cape Town.
Kim Karabo Makin

Kim Karabo Makin

b. Gaborone, Botswana, 1994. Lives and works between Gaborone and Cape Town.

Kim Karabo Makin is a multidisciplinary artist and her practice combines sculpture, sound and installation, with a research base and unique spatial awareness. Her work is informed by her multiculturalism — with particular attention to the role that context plays in identity formation. Kim Karabo Makin is a founding member of the Botswana Pavilion, an artist collective interrogating Botswana’s creative identity. 

Education

2019–present: Master of Fine Arts, Michaelis School of Fine Art, University of Cape Town, Cape Town. 
2018: Bachelor of Arts in Fine Arts, Michaelis School of Fine Art, University of Cape Town, Cape Town.

Group exhibitions

2020: Home is where the art is, Zeitz MOCAA, Cape Town.
2020: The Mutha_Ship Landing, Salt River, Cape Town.
2020: The Botswana Pavilion: Collective Ties, Pro Helvetia Johannesburg [online exhibition].
2020: Past Present Currents, presented by Re-Curators for Latitudes Art Fair [online exhibition]. 
2020: Michaelis Masters Showcase, RMB Turbine Art Fair [online exhibition]. 
2019: Graduate Exhibition, RMB Turbine Art Fair, Johannesburg.
2019: The Botswana Pavilion: Subjective Nationhood, Botswana National Art Gallery, Gaborone.
2019: The Botswana Pavilion: No Return, Gallery MOMO, Cape Town.
2019: Formally Known As, Association for Visual Arts Gallery, Cape Town.
2018: Grad Show 2018, Michaelis School of Fine Art, Cape Town.
2018: 2018 Absa L’Atelier, ABSA Art Gallery, Johannesburg.
2018: The Devil Loves When We Loathe Ourselves, 99 Loop Gallery, Cape Town.
2017: The changing realities in which we live at UCT, Molly Blackburn, University of Cape Town, Cape Town.
2015: Return to Sender, Centre for African Studies (CAS) Gallery, University of Cape Town, Cape Town.

Panels

2020: Moderator, Collective Ties: methods for creative and cultural exchange in the region, British Council, Johannesburg. 
2020: Panelist, Culture, Tourism and the New Narrative, World Bank Art Program. 

Reviews

Links

Jill Joubert

Jill Joubert

b. Tzaneen, Limpopo, South Africa, 1954. Lives in Cape Town

Jill Joubert is an artist, puppeteer and teacher. She is a former founding member of the Handspring Puppet Company and former principal of the Peter Clarke Art Centre (formerly the Frank Joubert Art Centre). Working predominately in wood, Jill Joubert displays an interest in sacred European and African Art as well as creation stories and folktales from around the world.

 

 

Education

2013: Master of Fine Art, University of Cape Town, Cape Town.
1991: Advanced Diploma in Fine Art, University of Cape Town, Cape Town.
1990: Honours degree in History of Arts, University of Cape Town, Cape Town.
1976: Bachelor of Arts, University of Cape Town, Cape Town.

Solo Exhibitions

2018: An Abandoned Saint and other Forgotten Stories, SMITH Studio, Cape Town.
2016: The Invasion by Stately Queens come to Rescue Princesses Trapped in Four Impenetrable Towers, SMITH Studio, Cape Town.
2014: Apple Girl, Michaelis School of Fine Art, University of Cape Town, Cape Town.

Group Exhibitions

2020: A Seadrift Of Songs, Re - Centering AfroAsia Project’s annual conference production, University of Cape Town, Cape Town.
2019: Memorials, Glen Carlou Wine Estate, Paarl, South Africa. 
2019: Self, Glen Carlou Wine Estate, Paarl, South Africa.
2019: And So The Stories Ran Away, Zeitz MOCAA, Cape Town. 
2017: Beyond Binaries, ICC Essence Festival, Durban Art Gallery; KZNSA Gallery, Durban.
2009: Staff Exhibition, Frank Joubert Art Centre, Cape Town.
1995: Juggling with the Familiar, Centre for African Studies, UCT, Cape Town.
1992: Meditations, Iziko South African National Gallery, Cape Town.
1991: Keeping the Wrong Company, Woman’s Centre, Observatory.
1989: An Exhibition of Cape Town Puppeteers, Artscape Foyer, Cape Town.
1987: Exhibition of South African Puppetry, UNISA Gallery, Pretoria. 
1976: Touch Wood, Iziko South African National Gallery, Cape Town.
1974: Involvement, Iziko South African National Gallery, Cape Town.

Teaching

2020 - present: Teacher, The Joy of Drawing: Drawing for Beginners, University of Cape Town, Cape Town.
2019: Mentor, Michaelis School of Fine Art and Ruth Prowse School of Art, Cape Town.
2014 - 2016: Participant, The Warhorse Education Project and The Kickstarter Project, KZN; Johannesburg and the Free State.
2013 - present: Teacher, Creative Arts for Foundation Phase PGCE students, UCT Department of Education, Cape Town.
2013-2020 : Teacher, PGCE Foundation Phase students in Life Skills: Creative Arts, for the School of Education, University of Cape Town.
2013: Teacher, Working in wood, Michaelis School of Fine Art, Cape Town.
2010 - 2016: Puppetry, Net Vir Pret, Barrydale, Handspring Trust, South Africa.
2010 - 2015: Teacher, Ibhabhathane Project, Western Cape, Limpopo, KZN and Free State, South Africa.
1997 - 2009: Principal, Frank Joubert Centre, Cape Town.
1990 - 2007: Teacher, Visual Art and Design Method for FET, UCT Department of Education, Cape Town.
1984 - 1996: Art Teacher, Herzlia Middle and High School, Cape Town.
1977 - 1980: Art Teacher, Herzlia High School, Cape Town.

Press clips

Writing

2020: Partnerships in Art Education in "Re: Researching Stories", a publication documenting the         children’s Exhibition, And So the Stories Ran Away at Zeitz MOCAA, Cape Town.
2019: The Tale of  Mouse and The Stories That ran Away inspired by the children’s Exhibition, And So the Stories Ran Away at Zeitz MOCAA, Cape Town.
2009: Public Sculpture, Statues and Memorials in Cape Town, Paarl, Barrydale and George, commissioned by the WCED, to support FET Visual Art and Design teachers in the Western Cape
2008: The Other Side of the Street, commissioned by WCED to support FET Focus Schools of the Arts, this package engaged with alternative teaching centres: Polly Street in Johannesburg, Rorke’s Drift in KZN and The Community Arts Project (CAP), in Cape Town.
2006: An Introduction to African Art, a book written for both GET and FET teachers related to the exhibition, Picasso and Africa, Iziko South African National Gallery, Cape Town, South Africa
2005: Art on our Doorstep: A Meeting of Two Cultures, a package for both GET and FET teachers to engage with the Iziko Old Townhouse exhibition of Dutch painting of the 1600’s and the San/Bushman exhibition at the Iziko Natural History Museum

Other

2015 - 2016:  Created and performed, The Tale of the Willow Pattern Plate, Rosebank Theatre, Cape Town; Barrydale and Magnet Theatre, Cape Town, South Africa.
2014: Co-created and performed, Bokele and the Sun, Rosebank Theatre and Fringe Festival, Cape Town, South Africa.
1995: Re-scripted, made puppets, performed and trained Afrikaans and Xhosa presenters, EDUMEDIA video (Western Cape Education Department).
1981 - 1983: Founder member, Handspring Puppet Company.
1997 - 2009: Co-founder, Ibhabhathane Project, South Africa.

Sindi-Leigh McBride, Jill Joubert’s Joyful Agency, (ASAI, 2019).

Mpumelelo Melane

b. 1962, New Brighton, Port Elizabeth, South Africa.
Mpumelelo Melane is a sculptor, who carved wooden figures in his spare time while working in posts as a labourer. After receiving chisels and some career advice from a man called Tom Ungerer in the 1980s, Melane joined Imvaba Association, and later went to Cape Town, where he trained at the Community Arts Project (CAP). Melane’s sculptures are largely portraits and figurative representations of people.

Education

1990: Training Art Course for cultural workers, Community Arts Project, Cape Town.
1988: Imvaba Arts Association.
1980s: Fine Arts, Nelson Mandela University, Port Elizabeth (incomplete)

Group Exhibitions (South Africa)

1992: Visual Arts Group travelling exhibition, Centre for African Studies, University of Cape Town, Cape Town.
1992: Grahamstown Arts Festival, Grahamstown.

Group Exhibitions (International)

1990: Touring exhibition, United Kingdom and Denmark.

Other

2003 - 2005: Art Facilitator, Siyaya Centre for Young Arts
1990: Delegate, Zabalaza Festival, London [Created mural at the Institute of Contemporary Arts with other South African delegates (among them Thami Jali, Sophie Peters, Louise Almon, Helen Sebidi).]

Links

Meshack Raphalalani

b. 1950, Venda, South Africa.

Raphalalani is a wood sculptor working in the Venda tradition, exhibiting both locally and abroad. Historical events, traditional ceremonies and rituals are recurring themes in his work. He was a founding member of The VhaVenda Arts Foundation.


 

 

 

Education

Venda Land Training Institution
1972: Art Method teaching, Ndaleni Educational Training Centre, KwaZulu-Natal.

Group Exhibitions (South Africa)

2003: Contemporary Natural, Mukondeni Fine Arts Gallery, Johannesburg.
2003: Design-in Africa,, Mukondeni Fine Arts Gallery, Johannesburg.
1985: Tributaries, Africana Museum (now Museum Africa), Johannesburg.
1985: Exhibition, Venda Sun Hotel, Limpopo.
1972, 1978: Exhibitions, University of Fort Hare, Alice.

Group Exhibitions (International)

2015: Art Santa Fe, Sante Fe Convention Center, New Mexico, United States of America.

Workshops

2017: Roots, Woodcarving expo, Los Angeles, United States of America
2016: Transvisions in Wood, Karoo, South Africa.
2016: World Wood Day, Kathmandu, Nepal.

Awards

2015: First Prize, Arts and culture for a sustainable Future, Champion World Woodcarving competition, Durban.
2015: Winner, World Wood Day Foundation competition, California.
1986: First Prize, African Art Festival, University of Zululand, KwaZulu Natal.

Links

Thami Jali

b. 1955, Lamontville, Durban.
Thami Jali is a painter, ceramicist and printmaker. As an alumni of the Rorke’s Drift Art & Craft Centre, he helped to re-establish the ceramics studio for their 2004 re-opening. Jali’s subject matter is as broad as his skill set, engaging areas from political life, dreams and the surreal, to forms from nature. 

 


Education

1983 - 1984: Ceramics, Natal Technikon, KwaZulu-Natal.
1981 - 1982: Rorke's Drift Art & Craft Centre, Kwa-Zulu Natal.

Solo Exhibitions (South Africa)

2024: Mphendla Ndlela, KwaZulu-Natal Society of Art (KZNSA) Gallery, Durban.
2014: Restless Spirt, Durban Art Gallery, Durban.
2007: Transformation, BAT Centre - Menzi Mchunu Gallery, Durban.
1998: Ungqofo Ulalele, BAT Centre - Menzi Mchunu Gallery, Durban.

Group Exhibitions (South Africa)

2014: Retroactive, KwaZulu-Natal Society of Art (KZNSA) Gallery, Durban.
2011: Three Parts More Harmony, Durban Art Gallery, Durban.
2011: Amandla, BAT Centre - Menzi Mchunu and Democratic Galleries, Durban.
2010: Amandla, Durban Art Gallery, Durban.
2009: A Known Heritage, Kizo Art Gallery, Umhlanga.
2004: InniBos Kunstefees, Nelspruit.
1995: Africus: Johannesburg Biennale ’95, Johannesburg
1995: 38 Essex Road, NSA Gallery, Durban, Kwa-Zulu Natal
1994: National Arts Trust Exhibition, BAT Centre, Durban.
1992: Thupelo Workshop Exhibition, Federated Union of Black Artists (FUBA) Gallery, Johannesburg.
1991: Thupelo Workshop Exhibition, Federated Union of Black Artists (FUBA) Gallery, Johannesburg.
1990: Vulamehlo – Open Eye,  Durban Art Gallery, Durban.
1989: Five Friends, (Paul Sibisi, Mpolokeng Ramphomane, Sfiso kaMkame, Gordon Gabashane and Thami Jali), Natal Society of Art (NSA) Gallery, Durban.
1989: Objects of Utility, Federated Union of Black Artists (FUBA) Gallery, Johannesburg.
1988: Friends of Freedom, Federated Union of Black Artists (FUBA) Gallery, Johannesburg.
1980 - 1982: Festival of African Art, University of Zululand, Richards Bay.

Group Exhibitions (International)

1997: New Dehli Triennale, Lalit Kala Akademi, New Dehli.
1993: ART OMI, International Artists Workshop, New York.
1990: Art from South African Townships, Institute for Contemporary Arts, London.
1983: Art Communication, Indingilizi Gallery, Mbabane.

Workshops & Residencies

2023: ASAI Print Access Workshop, Wits School of Arts, Johannesburg.
1997: Artist in Residence, Edgewood College, Wisconsin.
1990: Zabalaza Festival, Institute of Contemporary Art, London.

Awards

1982: First Prize - Sculpture, Festival of African Arts, University of Zululand, Richard's Bay.

Other

2017: Judge, PPC Imaginarium Awards, South Africa.
2004: Re-established the ceramics studio, Rorke's Drift Art & Craft Centre, Kwa-Zulu Natal.
2000: Ceramic tile project, Matsulu Art Centre, Mpumalanga. 
1991: Trustee, Community Mural Projects, Cultural Trust, Durban.
1987: Pottery and sculpture teacher, Mofolo Art Centre, Soweto.
1983 - 1984: Founder, Art Communications, Natal Technikon (now Durban University of Technology).

Public collections

Artists for Human Rights Trust
Caversham Press
Campbell Collection, University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban.
Durban Art Gallery, Durban.
Phansi Museum
Iziko South African National Gallery, Cape Town.
Tatham Art Gallery, Pietermaritzburg.
The Constitutional Court, Johannesburg.
University of Zululand, Richard's Bay.

Russel Hlongwane, Thami Jali, Mphendla Ndlela, (KZNSA Gallery, 2024).
Sithembiso Sangweni, Thami Jali, artist on a mission, (ASAI, 2018).
Thami Jali, Recalling Community Mural Projects, (ASAI, 2018).
Jenny Stretton, Thami Jali: Restless Spirit, (ASAI, 2018; originally published in 2014 by Durban Art Gallery).
Jenny Stretton, Thami Jali talks to curator Jenny Stretton about his vision for the future, (ASAI, 2018; originally published in 2014 by Durban Art Gallery).
Bren Brophy, Terry-Anne Stevenson reflects on an artistic life shared with Thami Jali, (ASAI, 2018; originally published in 2014 by Durban Art Gallery).
Witty Nyide, Directions to find Thami Jali (ASAI, 2018; originally published in 2014 by Durban Art Gallery).

KZNSA Gallery, Thami Jali: Mphendla Ndlela (2024).

Michael Barry

b. Port Elizabeth, Eastern Cape, South Africa, 1954.
Michael Barry is an artist and educator. He studied fine art at the University of Cape Town and is currently pursuing a PHD at Nelson Mandela University where he heads up the Department of Arts and Culture. Barry was an active member of the Imvaba Arts Association. He continues to be involved in numerous cultural development projects around Port Elizabeth. 

Art Education

2012: Masters, Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University, Port Elizabeth.
1981: Bachelor of Art, Fine Art, Michaelis School of Fine Art, Cape Town.
1985: Higher Degree, Education, University of Cape Town, Cape Town.

Group Exhibitions (South Africa)

2017: Just Painting, Nelson Mandela Metropolitan Art Museum, Port Elizabeth.
2016: #TheVoices, National Arts Festival, Albany Museum, Grahamstown.
2015: Art State, Gallery NOKO, Port Elizabeth.
2014: Redefinition of the status quo – collector’s edition, Gallery NOKO, Port Elizabeth.
2013: Collective 2013, artSPACE Gallery, Durban.
2012: A4 Ideas, Boomtown, Port Elizabeth.
1981: Young South African Photographers, South African National Gallery, Cape Town.

Public Commissions

Route 67, Nelson Mandela Bay Arts Journey, Port Elizabeth.
2013: Kite boy and Skipping girls, Helenvale Urban Renewal Programme, Thusong Centre, Port Elizabeth.
The Sunday Times 100 year celebration public art work, Queenstown.

Links

Patrick Bongoy

b. 1980, Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of Congo, lives in Cape Town, South Africa.

Patrick Bongoy’s sculptural works use discarded materials, such as rubber and industrial packaging, reflecting on the degradation of the earth’s natural resources, and those directly affected by and forced to improvise within this continued destruction and pollution.

Artist Statement

My work speaks in response to the global reality of literal and figurative environmental pollution. This encompasses the entire spectrum from the erosion of economic viability for people, socio- cultural decay impacting on community and individual behaviour and natural rural and urban landscape.

I draw on the history of my roots in the Democratic Republic of Congo as well as the irony of contemporary urban degradation masked as development.

Through the recovery of waste materials such as inner tubes from vehicle tyres, industrial packaging and textiles combined with my use of paint and African fabric, I repurpose and reinterpret what others discard. Beyond the intentional recycling element of this process, the visual concepts I explore surface a range of the pertinent issues. Additional sculpted objects are superimposed on these layered backgrounds, which I create as a foundational canvas. This is also a visual referencing of some of the many laborious tasks undertaken by women in my country, in order to make ends meet.

I try to understand how the deterioration of natural and urban settings mirrors the visible rotting, displayed in the behaviour and habits of the population. Deprivation evidently continues to recreate further misery and desperation.

Although my work reflects a kind of beauty, it also describes the destruction of a place and a people where ethical values have been poisoned or fallen away, infecting human morality and dignity. The aftermath of several violent conflicts has created a nightmarish atmosphere where people relive those moments in an extreme state of vulnerability and resignation to this state of affairs.

My painted figures, always in silhouette, with their deformed limbs and precarious stances, twist and turn in such spaces. They evoke a sense of uncontrolled or dynamic movement captured in a disjointed moment, as if their bodies are mid-execution of a questionable act.
However, the internal versus external appearances and perspectives – what is seen in contrast to what is understood, becomes the site of re-imagination and unforeseen possibilities.

Art Education

2009: Bachelor of Art (BA), Fine Art, Academy of Fine Arts, Kinshasa.
2005: State Diploma, Institute of Fine Arts, Kinshasa.

Solo Exhibitions (DR Congo and South Africa)

2019: Matter, Gallery MOMO, Johannesburg.
2019: Remains, Association of Visual Arts (AVA), Cape Town.
2017: Where are we? Where are we going?, EBONY/CURATED, Cape Town.
2012: BA Paper Collection, Cultural Center Muikka Theatre, Kinshasa
2012: BINGOTO, SADI collective space, Kinshasa.

Group Exhibitions (South Africa)

2019: Tomorrow, there will be more of us, The Stellenbosch Triennale, Woodmill Lifestyle Centre, Stellenbosch.
2018: Feso: A Thorn In The Flesh, (with Ronald Muchatuta), EBONY/CURATED, Cape Town.
2018: Cape To Tehran, Gallery MOMO, Cape Town; Johannesburg.
2018: Summer Exhibition, EBONY/CURATED, Cape Town.
2017: EBONY/CURATED booth, Art Africa Fair, Cape Town.
2016: What is the matter, EBONY/CURATED, Cape Town.
2016: That Art Fair, Cape Town.
2015: EBONY/CURATED, Franschoek, Cape Town.
2015: Présence Congolaise, Alliance Française, Cape Town.
2013: Fashion show, Central library, Cape Town.

Group Exhibitions (International)

2019: Contemporary Istanbul Art Fair, THK Gallery, Istanbul.
2018: EXPO Chicago, (with Gallery MOMO), Chicago.
2017: 1:54 Contemporary African Art Fair, Nando’s & Spier Arts Trust, London.
2017: Feast Your Eyes, Nando’s UK, London.
2012: Plural Dimension, Center Wallonia-Brussels, Brussels.

Workshops and Performances

2013: Article 15, (performance with Maurice Mbikayi), Symposium, University of Cape Town.
2012: Paper clothing design and construction, BA Paper Collection, Cultural Center Muikka Theatre, Kinshasa.
2012: Volunteer, Creative workshop for disadvantaged children and child victims of war, Foundation Star of Congo (FONECO), SADI collective space, Kinshasa.
2012: Workshop, Westerly wind (with playwright & filmmaker Kap’s Kapambu), SADI collective space, Kinshasa.
2012: Photography Workshop, (with Roël Jacobs), Kinshasa Académie of Fine Art, Kinshasa.
2011: The awakening of consciousness, performance, 24 November street, Kinshasa
2011: Performance, (with SADI collective), SADI collective space, Kinshasa.
2011: Residency, SADI collective space, Kinshasa.

Collections

Nando's UK.
Nando's South Africa.
SADI Collectif, DR Congo.

Links

Titos Pelembe

b. 1988, Maputo Mozambique.

“Pelembe is amongst artists who have started to push the boundaries by manipulating and modelling clay in an innovative and interesting way. He transcends the craft label often attributed to African ceramics, by melding or combining his distinctive craftsmanship of the medium with artistic, multi-layered expression informed by the Mozambican cultural and artistic milieu.” Harun Harun, Visual Artist and Independent Curator

“The artist is a receptacle for emotions that come from all over the place:
from the sky, from the earth, from a scrap of paper,
from a passing shape, from a spider’s web.”
Pablo Picasso

Being invited to write about Titos Pelembe’s artwork in his first solo show “Trilho dos Sonhos” is a challenge when you live outside the country, and are unable to experience the artwork firsthand. It is however, indisputable that Pelembe is a talented young artist with a flair for expressing himself through clay. This is evidenced through his unique sculpture, which on occasion incorporates found materials, wood and metal. In order to gain a better appreciation of his art form, it is imperative to locate his work within the broader context of contemporary Mozambican arts and culture. Mozambique had two very vibrant periods; one after national independence, where the majority of artists were self-taught and another after the creation of the National School of Visual Arts in 1983. Pelembe belongs to the second period, which largely consists of the new generation of visual artists who received art training through the National Visual Arts School, in Maputo. This group has contributed significantly to the growth of contemporary Mozambican art by injecting new forms of expression. These young artists from Pelembe’s generation are experimenting with clay on a monumental scale. They include Lourenco Abner “Tsenane”, Nelson Joao Muianga “Muingane”, Celestino Bento Mondlane “Mudaulane”, Titos Pelembe and others.

Clay is a medium that is readily available and inexpensive in Mozambique, but it has mainly been used to express the traditional aesthetic. Pelembe is amongst artists who have started to push the boundaries by manipulating and modelling clay in an innovative and interesting way. He transcends the craft label often attributed to African ceramics, by melding or combining his distinctive craftsmanship of the medium with artistic, multi-layered expression informed by the Mozambican cultural and artistic milieu. His eloquent use of line and form imbues his art with a contemporary aesthetic that is simultaneously Mozambican yet global. The element of intricacy found in Makonde sculpture is present in his artworks. The richness of Pelembe’s works is expressed through the symbolism of clay’s earthiness and fragility, as well as strength, attained through firing. These are also characteristics that are reflected in our humanity and history. His sculptures also seem to make reference to our multi-faceted nature and idiosyncrasies as human beings – qualities that shape our personality, in the same way that each of his pieces has its own character. Such reference is made through three-dimensional forms, irregular and organic shapes where lines play a dual role as both contour and surface element. The attached pieces of wood of varying length and sizes, found objects or recycled materials lend dynamism to the expressive artworks.

Pelembe’s emotions, feelings and ideas are diverse and boundless. They come from everywhere, as Pablo Picasso said: The artist is a receptacle for emotions that come from all over the place: from the sky, from the earth, from a scrap of paper, from a passing shape, from a spider’s web.
He is a very active practitioner who works hard to transform his dreams into the type of art presented in this exhibition. The artworks are well balanced, well composed and well executed, thereby conveying the strong messages that he wants to share with art lovers, art collectors and the community.

Proof of Pelembe’s versatility as an artist is the awards he has received over the years. In 2013, 2011 and 2009 he won prizes for sculpture and painting respectively, in the TDM Biennale. In 2008 he got two ceramic art prizes – one from FUNDAC and the other Expo Musart. In 2007 he received a prize for sculpture and ceramics as well as a special mention for painting. He has also explored comics, and received an award from the Instituto Camões in the same year. As a multi-disciplinary artist, Pelembe’s potential and talent is evident in his ceramic sculptures, which demonstrate an understanding of form and space. His masterful use of line is evident in artworks like Sculpture, 2013, an art installation, which consists of a combination of various materials, namely clay, wood, metal and recycled paper; Turbelencia da crise Economico Mundial, 2009; Disturbio mental, 2008; Gestos de fraternizacao, series, 2011 and the monumental sculpture Sasol, grafico de crescimento, 2012. He also uses various materials such as cement, stones, metal and in some instances adds paint. The mural O encanto da natureza is a wonderful exploration of mosaic and an interesting foray into public art.

In other media such as painting, drawing and watercolour, Titos Pelembe needs to spend more time experimenting in order to give us work that is on par with his ceramic sculptures, in terms of skill and quality. Some of his paintings that show promise in terms of technique, balance and composition include Magalie, 2009, mixed media; No fundo do mar, 2011, mixed media; Danca contemporanea, 2011, mixed media; Bairro dos Pescadores, 2011, mixed media; Vivencias, 2013, mixed media; Celebrando o pescado, 2013, mixed media; A busca do liquid precioso, 2013, mixed media and Novo dia, esperanca revitalizada, 2013, mixed media.

More can be said about Titos Pelembe’s artworks, but the best way to experience his unique approach to the art-making process, is to view the wonderful work displayed in the exhibition ”Trilho dos Sonhos”.

Art is not what you see, but what you make others see. Edgar Degas

Congratulations Titos! I believe that the trail you are following will lead to the realisation of your dreams or goals.

I am inviting all of you to dream along with Titos Pelembe.

Harun Harun
Visual Artist and Independent Curator

Education

2012 Degree at the Higher Institute for Arts and Culture (ISArC), Maputo.
2010 Under graduate course in Ceramics and Pedagogical Training at the National School for Visual Arts (ENAV), Maputo, Mozambique.

Solo Exhibitions

2014 Trilho dos Sonhos, Maputo.

Group Exhibitions

2014 Creative Block - Gallery of Kulungwana - Maputo.
2013 Telecommunication of Mozambique Biennial, National Museum of Art, Maputo.
2012 Collective exhibition ” Line in form – form in line” , Gallery of Kulungwana - Maputo.
2012 ZIMOKAD, Cultural Art Dialogue Mozambique and Zimbabwe, National School for Visual Arts and Cultural Centre Franco Mozambicano, Maputo.
2012 Sasol Temane sculpture Site, Maputo.
2012 Collective exhibition Creative Block, The Netherlands
2011 Telecommunication of Mozambique Biennial, National Museum of Art, Maputo.
2011 Design and Production of trophies, Ministry of Civil Service, Maputo.
2011 Collective exhibition Creative Block, Finland.
2011 ICRH Sculpture - Maputo;
2009 Telecommunication of Mozambique Biennial, National Museum of Art, Maputo.
2009 Collective exhibition and workshop SADC CREATOR ( Botswana);
 - FUNDAC, Maputo
2008 Fund for Cultural and artistic Development
2008 National Museum of Art, Maputo.
2007 Cartoons, Instituto Camões, Maputo
2007 Alto Mae house of culture, Maputo
2006 [Cartoons], Instituto Camões, Maputo
2006 [5th anniversary of the Cultural Centre of the Mozambican Bank], Mozambican cultural centre, Maputo
2006 Fund for Cultural and artistic Development
2005 [30th anniversary of Mozambican Bank], Mozambican cultural centre, Maputo
2005 [Revelation Francophony], Franco-Mozambican Cultural Centre, Maputo

Awards

2011 2nd prize, Telecommunication of Mozambique Biennial, National Museum of Art, Maputo.
2009 3rd prize, Telecommunication of Mozambique Biennial, National Museum of Art, Maputo.
2009 Honourable mention, in Painting FUNDAC Malangatana award.
2008 1st prize, sculpture Fund for cultural and artistic development, Alberto Chissano prize.
2008 2nd prize, sculpture, National Museum of Art, Maputo.
2007 3rd prize, Cartoons Instituto Camões - Maputo.
2007 1st prize, sculpture and Honourable mention, painting in edition of the Discovery contest.
2006 3rd prize, Cartoons, Camões Institute - Maputo.
2006 1st and 2nd prize , commemorating the 5th anniversary of the Cultural Centre of the Mozambican Bank.
2006 Honourable mention, sculpture, Fund for cultural and artistic development.
2006 2nd prize, UNESCO Malaria poster.
2005 Honourable Mention 30th anniversary of Mozambican Bank.
2004 1st prize, Revelation Francophony Cultural Centre Mozambican Franco - Maputo.

Collections

Cultural Institute Mozambique, Germany
New Group of Communication and creative at Visual Arts Company

Celestino Mudaulane

b. 1972, Maputo Mozambique.

Mudaulane (Mondlane) produces innovative, often monumental ceramic sculptures as well as large, striking drawings. His works are highly imaginative, visualizing a world that mediates the material and the spiritual, the playful and the confrontational.

(Please note that this page is under construction)

Education

1997 Faculty of Fine Arts, Porto (workshop or internship)
1997 University of KwaZulu Natal (workshop or internship)
1994 Art Foundation, South Africa (workshop or internship)
1992 Completed ceramic course, National School of Visual Arts (ENAV), Maputo

Positions held

Founder member, Muvart
Member, Nucleo de Arte, Maputo
Lecturer in ceramics, design and drawing, National School of Visual Arts (ENAV), Maputo

Solo Exhibitions

1997 Núcleo de Arte, Maputo

Group Exhibitions (Mozambique)

2010 Ocupações Temporárias, Maputo
2006 Expo Arte Contemporanea, Museu Nacional de Arte, Maputo
2003 Quero conhecer-te África, Fortaleza de Maputo
2003 Bienal da TDM, Museu Nacional de Arte, Maputo
2003 Exposição Colectiva de Artes Plásticas, Instituto Camões, Maputo
2002 Exposição de Pintura, Desenho, Escultura e Cerâmica, Fundação Alberto Chissano, Maputo
2001 Bienal TDM, Museu Nacional de Arte, Maputo
2001 Contra a Violência Infantil, Centro Cultural Franco-Moçambicano, Maputo
2000 Plasticidades em Moçambique, Instituto Camões, Maputo
1999 Expo Annual Musart, Museu Nacional de Arte, Maputo
1993 2º Workshop, Escola Nacional de Artes Visuais, Maputo

Group Exhibitions (International)

2014 Celestino Mudaulane, Goncalo Mabunda, Mauro Pinto, Galeria 111, Lisbon, Portugal
2011 Idioma Comum, Fundação PLMJ, Lisbon, Portugal
2008 Arte Lisboa 08 - Feira de Arte Contemporânea, FIL, Lisbon, Portugal
2007 Muvart Nouva Africa, Antico Palazzo della Pretura di Castell ‘Arquato, Milan, Italy
2006 Arco’06 - Feira de Arte Contemporânea, Madrid, Spain
2006-08 Replica e Rebelda, travelling exhibition organized by the Camoes Institute
2004 Arte Lisboa 04, Lisbon, Portugal
1997 Exposição de Pintura e Cerâmica, Escola Secundária de Soares dos Reis, Porto, Portugal

Awards

2003 1º Prémio de Cerâmica, Bienal da TDM, Maputo
2003 Prémio de Consagração, Fundação Alberto Chissano, Maputo
1999 1º Prémio de Cerâmica, Expo Annual Musart, Maputo

Publications

2007 Muvart Nouva Africa, Antico Palazzo della Pretura di Castell ‘Arquato, Milan (catalogue/ brochure), Pedro Campos Costa (curator)
2006 Museu Nacional de Arte, Maputo Expo Arte Contemporanea (catalogue, international exhibition
2001 Bienal TDM (catalogue). Edited by Andre Salamao Mabjala and Ciro Pereira
1999 Expo Annual Musart. Museu Nacional de Arte.

Nirveda Alleck

b. 1975, Mauritius. Currently lives in Mauritius.

Nirveda Alleck is a multi-disciplinary artist who explores the psychology of human social life in public and personal spaces. In her paintings, she works with a combination of staged and studied portraiture, adding elements of fiction, or removing backdrops from otherwise hyperreal representations. In her three dimensional work, which studies a variety of objects and scenes, the centrality of human presence is always implied as a central point of interest.

Education

2012: Cultural Leadership Training, African Arts Institute, South African Centre for the Netherlands and Flanders, Cape Town.
2001: Master of Fine Art (MFA), Glasgow School of Art, Glasgow.
1997: Bachelor of Art in Fine Arts (Hons.), First Class, Michaelis School of Fine Art, University of Cape Town, Cape Town.

Solo Exhibitions (Mauritius)

2023: No Story is an Island, Caudan Arts Centre, Port Louis.
2020: De quel noirceur sont tes pensées, Institut Français de Maurice, Mauritius
2018: Divine Weapons, Imaaya Art Gallery, Vacoas-Phoenix.
2013: Select Works, Angsana Balaclava, Balaclava.
2012: Art Party, Henessy Park Hotel, Quatre Bornes.
2007: Présent Immobile, La Citadelle, Port Louis.
1998: Zilch And All, Max Boullé Gallery, Beau Bassin-Rose Hill.
2004: Duad, Max Boullé Gallery, Beau Bassin-Rose Hill.

Solo Exhibitions (International)

2019: Car, vois-tu, tu as droit d’être obscur, Cité internationale des arts Paris, Paris.

Group Exhibitions (Mauritius)

2016: Edge Effects, La Citadelle, Port Louis.
2016: Porlwi by Light, Company Garden, Port Louis.
2016: Metaform, Roger's House, Mauritius.
2015: Charles Beaudelaire exhibition, Helen de Senneville Gallery, Mauritius
2015: Parl’eau- Collaborative work with Katia Bourdarel during La Peau des Choses
exhibition, IFM, Mauritius
2015: Amnesia: 180th anniversary commemorating the abolition of slavery, Rabindranath
Tagore Institute, Mauritius
2014: Glories of Bihar, Rabindranath Tagore Institute, Mauritius
2014: Femlink- Feminin Plurielles, International Video Art exhibition, IFM, Mauritius
2013: La Belle Peinture II, Phoenix le Halles, Port Louis.
2012: We Have Lost The Way, Port Louis.
2010: The Landing of the Dodos, public, Quatre Bornes.
2010: 200 Years after the Battle of Grand Port, Commemorative Exhibition, Mauritius.
2009: Indian Diaspora International Exhibition, Mauritius.
2008: INTERLACE - Drawing Connections between SA, Finland and Mauritius, IMAAYA Gallery, Vacoas-Phoenix.
2008: Imaaya Group Exhibition, Imaaya Gallery, Vacoas-Phoenix.
2008: Omada, Live video performance.
2007: Liberté D’expression, Right Now! Exhibition, IBL Gallery, Port Louis.
2007: International Women’s Exhibition, Mahatma Ghandi Institute Gallery, Moka.
2005: 2nd Triennale of Contemporary Art, Mauritius.
2005: Salon de Mai, Mahatma Ghandi Institute Gallery, Moka.

Group Exhibitions (International)

2024: The Sun Never Sets II: More Than One Memory. Unit, London.
2019: Streams of Consciousness, Rencontres de Bamako -  Biennale Africaine de la photographie, National Museum of Mali, Bamako.
2017: Ethics in a World of Strangers: Nirveda Alleck and Eric van Hove, Richard Taittinger Gallery, New York City.
2017: Tous, des sang-meles, Musée d´art contemporain du Val-de-Marne MAC/Val, Paris.
2016: Dakar-Martigny: Hommage À La Biennale D’art Contemporain, Le Manoir, Matrigny.
2016: Le Tour de Origines, Chapelle Saint Thomas des Indiens, Réunion Island.
2016: Kwe I Espas, Le Hangart, Réunion Island.
2016: We the People, Casablanca International Biennale, Cassablanca.
2014: Des hommes, des mondes, College des Bernardins, Paris.
2014: Where are we now?, Marrakech Biennale Parallel projects, Marrakech.
2014: African Artists: Still Fighting Ignorance & Intellectual Perfidy (SFIP), Ben Uri Gallery & Museum, St. John's Wood, London. 
2014: Africa Utopia, Digital Africa: The Future is now, Southbank Centre, London.
2014: Analogue Eye: Video art from Africa, National Arts Festival, Grahamstown.
2014: !Kauru, Unisa Art Gallery, Pretoria. 
2014: Des hommes, des mondes, College des Bernardins, Paris, France
2013: Origins of a new world tour, Made in India,  Reunion Island.
2013: Still Fighting Ignorance and Intellectual Perfidy, Ben Uri Gallery, London; Malmö Konsthall, Malmö.
2013: Art Warning the World, Klaus Guingand, online.
2012: One Colour Screening, La Cinematheque Quebequoise, Quebec.
2012: Dak'art African Contemporary Art Biennale, La Gare, Dakar.
2011: One Colour, Pfeister Gallery, Bornholm.
2011: To Africanize is to Civilize, Paris Photo OFF, Paris.
2011: Festival Africain d'Images Virtuelles Artistiques (FAIVA) Residency Exhibition, Center Soleil d'Afrique, Bamako.
2011: Migrant-C, FNB Joburg Art Fair, Johannesburg.
2011: One Minutes Africa Awards, Townhouse Gallery, Cairo.
2011: FOCUS11: Contemporary Art Africa, Art Basel, Basel.
2011: Open Studio, Omi International Art Centre, New York.
2011: One Minutes Video Africa, Bamako.
2010: African Renaissance, World Festival of Black Arts International, Dakar.
2010: La Foire des Mascareignes, Le Port, Reunion Island.
2010: Dak'art African Contemporary Art Biennale, La Gare, Dakar.
2009: The Réunion Island Biennale of Art, Design, Création, Numérique et Immatérielle, Reunion Island.
2009: Vieme Jeux de la Francophonie, Beirut.
2009: African Renaissance: Africa is Back, Pan-African Art Festival, multiple venues, Algiers.
2008: 10th year Anniversary Raffle, Greatmore Studios, Cape Town.
2008: House Games Triennale, Anna Ruth and Juho Jäppinen's apartment, Jyväskylä.
2008: Tulipamwe International Artists Exhibition, Goethe-Institut Namibia, Windhoek.
2007: International Urban Workshop Exhibition, Thupelo, Cape Town.
2006 - 2007: Femlink International Video Collage, shown at venues worldwide, including Cinematic Lab, Bandung; Foundation of Contemporary Art, Montevideo; Cyber Arts Night Vision Festival, Massachusetts; Espace Dialogos, Cachan; Centre Videofemmes, Quebec and many more.
2006: Resident Artists Exhibition, Bag Factory Artists studios, Johannesburg.
2005: The 2nd East Africa Art Biennale (EASTAB), Dar es Salaam.
2005: International Painters Exhibition, Karnataka Chitrakala Parishek Gallery, Bangalore.
2005: Tomorrow Land, 11th Triennale India, New Delhi.
2003: Pond, Cochrane Street, Glasgow.
2001: Diplomatic Immunity, Times Square Gallery, New York City.
1999: Glasgow Art Fair, St Georges Square, Glasgow.
1999: Interim Show, Glasgow School Of Art, Glasgow.
1998: 6th Seychelles Biennial Of Contemporary Art, National Gallery, Victoria.
1997: Graduate Exhibition, Michaelis School of Fine Art, Cape Town.
1997: Preface, Centre For African Studies Gallery, Cape Town; Association for Visual Arts (AVA) Gallery, Cape Town.

Video Works


2011: They spoke different tongues, 2 channel, 15:00.
2011: L’Offrande, 01:00, (nominated for One Minutes Africa Prize).
2011: one color, 03:00.
2011: The return, 02:00, (commissioned by One Minutes Africa).
2009: Ephemeral, 08:00.
2008: Omada, video performance with music and dance, 08:00.
2007: Tragedy of a swing and a chair, 02:00.
2007: Histories, documentary, (commissioned by Right Now! Association, Mauritius).
2006: Power, 20:00.
2006: Perfect Match, video performance.
2005: Ravinal Man, 17:00.
2004: Counter Currents, synchronised video work.
2001: Gist, video with installation.

Collections and Commissions

Porlwi by Light Festival of Contemporary Culture, Mauritus.
Ministry of Arts and Culture, Mauritius.
Azuri Radisson Blue, Mauritius.
Okombahe Community, Namibia.
Lalit Kala Akademi, India.
Reinsurance Consultants, Mauritius & South Africa.
Holcim Cements, Mauritius.
Shields Mural Project, Peugeot Centre, Scotland.
Church House, Bridgeton, Scotland.
UCATT (Workers Union) March Banner, Scotland.
Isle of Arran Distillers, Scotland.
J.D.Weatherspoons Ltd, Glasgow and Edinburgh Branches, Scotland.
Hannibal (historic documentary), Channel 5, Wark Clements Productions, Scotland.
Citigate, Scotland.
McCabe Contemporary Art (Cecily Getty), South Africa.
Independent Outdoor Media, South Africa.

Catalogues


2021: African Artists: From 1882 to Now. Phaidon: London
2012: Dak’Art 2012: 10e`me Biennale de l’art africain contemporain, Secretariat general de la biennale des arts, Dakar.
2011: FNB Joburg Art Fair 2011, Cobi Laubuscagne (ed), ArtLogic: Johannesburg.
2011: Migrant C, Nirveda Alleck (curator), Johannesburg.
2011: Fanzines, Focus Contemporary African Art, Basel.
2010: Dak’art 2010: 9ème Biennale De L'art Africain Contemporain, Secrétariat général de la biennale des arts, Dakar.
2009: Biennale Arts Actuels, Ecole Supérieure des Beaux-Arts: Reunion Island.
2009: 2009 Francophonie Games, Beirut.
2009: African Renaissance: Africa is Back, 2nd Pan African Festival, Zéhira Yahi (Arts and Culture Department), Algiers.
2009: Indian Diaspora International, Mahatma Ghandi Institut, University of Mauritus, Moka.
2007: International Urban Workshop Exhibition, Thupelo, Cape Town.
2007: Présent Immobile, La Citadelle, Port Louis.
2007: Art in Mauritius, Hans Ramduth (author), MGI Publication, Moka.
2007: 1st Salon d’Ete, National Art Gallery, Port Louis.
2006: Bag Factory Residents Exhibition, Bag Factory Artist Studios, Johannesburg.
2005: Tomorrow Land, 11th Triennale India, New Delhi.
2005: The 2nd East Africa Art Biennale (EASTAB), Yves Goscinny (author), La Petite Gallerie, Dar es Salaam.
2001: Diplomatic Immunity, UKwithNY Festival, New York City.
1998: 24 Artworks by selected South African Artists, McCabe Gallery Publication, Cape Town.

Awards and Prizes


2012: Emma Award for Arts and Culture, Bank One, Mauritius.
2011: FNB Art Prize Finalist, FNB Joburg Art Fair, Johannesburg.
2011: 'One Minutes Africa' Nominee, Townhouse Gallery, Cairo.
2011: Francis J Greenburger Fellowship, Omi International Arts Centre, Ghent.
2011: Recipient, International Artist Scheme Grant, Ministry of Arts and Culture, Mauritius.
2010: Soleil d’Afrique Prize, Dak'art African Contemporary Art Biennale, Dakar.
2008: HIVOS Sponsorship, Tulipamwe International Artists Workshop and Exhibition, National Art Gallery of Namibia, Windhoek.
2004: Selected for ‘1er Fond D’Aide au Développement du Film’, Mauritius Film Development Corporation, Mauritius. 
1999: Postgraduate Scholarship, Glasgow School of Fine Art, Glasgow.
1998: Most Promising Young Artist Award, 6th Seychelles Biennial of Contemporary Art, National Gallery, Victoria.
1997: Dean’s Merit List, Michaelis School of Fine Art, University of Cape Town, Cape Town.
1994: Edward Louis Ladan Bursary used for undergraduate studies in fine art, Michaelis School of Fine Art, University of Cape Town, Cape Town.

Residencies and Workshops

2011: Soleil d’Afrique Residency, Centre Soleil d'Afrique, Bamako.
2011: Omi International Artists Residency, Art Omi, Ghent.
2011: One Minutes Africa workshop, Centre Soleil d'Afrique, Bamako.
2009: Biennale Arts Actuels Residency, Ecole Supérieure des Beaux-Arts, Reunion Island.
2009: Vieme Francophonie Games Painting Workshop, Beirut.
2009: Indian Diaspora International Workshop, Mahatma Ghandi Institut, Moka.
2008: Tulipamwe International Artists Workshop, Goethe Institut Namibia,Windhoek.
2007: Artist in Residence, Greatmore Studios, Cape Town.
2007: Thupelo International Workshop, Ruth Prowse School of Art, Cape Town.
2006: Artist in Residence, Bag Factor Artist Studios, Johannesburg.
2005: International Painters Camp, Karnataka Chitrakala Parishek, Bangalore.
2004: Scriptwriting workshop with Mama Keita, Mauritus Film Development Corporation, Vacoas-Phoenix.
2001 - 2002: Artist in Residence, St Patrick’s Primary School, Glasgow.

Other Projects

Chair, Arterial Network, Mauritius Chapter, Port Louis.
Co-ordinator, The Landing of The Dodos public art project, Quatre Bornes.
Project Leader, Migrant-C: Mauritius Indian Ocean Artists Collective, Mauritus.

Professional Experience

2013: Visiting Lecturer, Experimental Video, Visual Art and Digital Arts, University of Mauritius, Moka.
2012: One Day Create, Outdoor Creative Art Classes, Casela Nature Parks, Black River.
2012: Visiting Lecturer, Critical Issues on Contemporary Art, Mahatma Gandhi Institute, University of Mauritius, Moka.
2011: Arts Consultant, Aapravasi Ghat World Heritage Site, Port Louis District.
2008 - 2009: Lecturer, Mauritius Institute of Education, Moka.
2006: Visiting Lecturer, Painitng, Mahatma Gandhi Institute, University of Mauritius, Moka.
2004 - 2008: Education Officer, Ministry of Education and Human Resources, Vacoas-Phoenix.
1998-1999: Community Arts Teacher, Coatbrigde Community Centre, Glasgow.

Mambakwedza Mutasa

Mambakwedza Mutasa

b. Harare, 1974. Lives in Harare, Zimbabwe

Mambakwedza Mutasa’s sculptures, combining wood, stone and metal, reflect on a universal human spirituality and reference the political state of the African continent.

Motivations

Inspired by the creator to create, a sheep to the shepherd, an instrument to glorify his living word in the spirit of Jesus Christ , a mirror to his Godliness, as to bring consciousness of the presence of the present things.

Exhibitions (Zimbabwe)

2010: Summer Exhibition, Domboramwari Art Village, Epworth.
2005: Harare International Festival of the Arts (HIFA), Harare.
2004: Baraka - Blessings of Life, sculptures and hanging constructions, (with the Mutasa brothers, Chenjerai and Mambakwedza), National Gallery of Zimbabwe, Harare.
2004: Motion, navigating the past: The Harare Biennale 2004, National Gallery of Zimbabwe, Harare.
2003: Batapata, National Gallery of Zimbabwe, Harare.
2000: Exhibition, National Gallery of Zimbabwe, Harare.
2000: Exhibition, Innerspace Gallery, Harare.
1993 - 2003: Delta Gallery, Harare
1991 - 1999: The Annual Zimbabwe Heritage Exhibitions, National Gallery of Zimbabwe, Harare.

Exhibitions (International)

2007: Cape 07, Cape Town.
2006: Dak’Art; Dakar.
2006: Movement: New Works in Progress by Visiting Artists,
Greatmore Studios, Cape Town.
2004: ArtHAUS, Accra.
2003: Miller Gallery, Spain.
2002: Sufhouse gallery, Canada.
2001 - 2003: Steve Gallery, United States.
2000: Sarenco Gallery, Italy.
1999: Kuona Workshop, Nairobi.
1999: Galerie Zvakanaka, Borne, The Netherlands.
1998: J. Lathan Gallery, Oakland.
1997: AIDS Exhibition, Australia.

Workshops & residencies

2007: Greatmore Studios, Cape Town.
2006: Greatmore Studios, Cape Town.
2004: Insaka International workshop, Livingstone.
2003: Atlantica.
1999: Batapata International Artists Workshop, Mutare.

Batapata international Artist Workshop, Boulton.
Kuona Workshop, Nairobi.
Zvakanaka Gallerie, Holland.
ArtHAUS international workshop, Accra.

Awards and Grants

2005: Elizabeth Greenshield Foundation award.
2002: Elizabeth Greenshield Foundation award.
2001: Commonwealth award, London.
1999: Elizabeth Greenshield Foundation award.
1998: High commendation, National Gallery of Zimbabwe.
1997: Award of Merit for Weldart, National Gallery of Zimbabwe.
1996: Award of Merit for Painting; Highly commended for Weldart; Award of Merit for Weldart, National Gallery of Zimbabwe.
1994: Highly commended for Graphic Art, National Gallery of Zimbabwe.
1994: Award of Merit for Metal (Weldart), National Gallery of Zimbabwe.

Publications

2013: Tony Mhonda, The Art of Recycling, The Herald, Oct 11.
2006: Dak’Art la Biennale de l'Art Africain Contemporain, [catalogue].
2005: Doreen Sibanda, Stone Sculpture: A Retrospective 1957-2004, [catalogue], Harare: Weaver Press.
2004: Celia Winter Irving; Raphael Chikukwa, Motion, navigating the past: The Harare Biennale 2004[catalogue], Harare: National Gallery of Zimbabwe.
2004: 25 year silver jubilee [catalogue] 2003: Batapata artists' workshop [catalogue] 2002: Commonwealth Awards [catalogue] 2000: Enrico Mascellanie Sarenco [art magazine] 1998: Delta Gallery [art magazine] No.12
1997: Heritage '97 [catalogue], National Gallery of Zimbabwe, Harare.
1997: Decade of award winners [catalogue] 1996: Heritage '96 [catalogue], National Gallery of Zimbabwe, Harare.
1995: Delta Gallery [art magazine] No.2
1994: Herald Newspaper, [art review].
1994: Heritage '94 [catalogue], National Gallery of Zimbabwe, Harare.
1994: The Chronicle Newspaper, [art review] Nov 18.
Isaac Nkululeko Makeleni

Isaac Nkululeko Makeleni

b.Vasco, Cape Town, 1950; d.Nyanga East, Cape Town, 2008.

A self-taught sculptor and painter with a history of involvement in community arts initiatives, Makeleni’s creative works are rich in allusions to historical, political and cultural themes.

Education

Nyanga Public Primary and Higher Schools (completed Standard 5/ Grade 7).
Self-taught artist

Exhibitions

2013 Against the Grain, Iziko South African National Gallery. Curated by Mario Pissarra. Featured works "Together Forever", "Together Forever II", "Cross", "Mandela and de Klerk", "Prescribed..." and "Fall of Nyanga Bush". Full-colour catalogue with essay on artist, published by ASAI.
2012 Siyakubona, Cape Gallery, Cape Town.
2011 A Natural Selection. 1991-2011, AVA. Curated by Clare Butcher. Featured work "Prescribed..."
2007 & Beyond Encryption, Cape Gallery.
2007 Africa South, AVA, Cape Town. Curated by Mario Pissarra. Featured work "Prescribed..."
2007 Exhibition to accompany international conference of Jungian psychologists, Cape Town International Conference Centre. Curated by Josie Grinrod and Kate Gottgens. Featured work "For Whom the Bell Tolls" purchased by the curator (Grinrod).
2007 Exhibition #1. Gill Alderman Gallery, Kenilworth. Featured work "Together Forever (II)"
2006  Stop Crime awareness campaign, organised by City of Cape Town. Exhibition listed on artist's CV, details not known
2005 Group exhibition, Zolani Centre, Nyanga. Sponsored by Old Mutual. Exhibition listed on artist's CV, details not known.
2004 Masivuke ma Africa exhibition, Walter Teka School, Nyanga.
2004 Botaki. Old Mutual Asset Managers, Cape Town. Curated by Mario Pissarra. Featured work "Together Forever (II)". Small illustrated catalogue.
2002 Human Rights Media Centre, Athlone. Exhibition listed on artists CV, details not known.
2002-03 Exhibition for opening ceremony of ICC cricket World Cup. Exhibition listed on artist's CV, details not known.
2002 Umbono. Castle of Good Hope. Exhibition listed on artist's CV, details not known.
2001 A Woman's Journey. Philani Nutrition Project exhibition, Castle of Good Hope. Exhibition listed on artist's CV, details not known.
1999 One City, Many Cultures Festival. Makeleni co-ordinated group of artists who painted six street signs in Guguletu, organised by Public Eye. See http://www.public-eye.co.za/99-p4.html Listed in Artthrob, with photograph of artist http://www.artthrob.co.za/99sept/listings.html
1999 Masivuke ma Africa Calendar Exhibition, Zolani Centre, Nyanga. Exhibition listed on artist's CV, details not known. (Unclear if same as 1997 entry for calendar exhibition at Zolani Centre, listed on another version of CV)
1998 Cape Town Arts Festival. Exhibition listed on artist's CV, details not known (unclear if same as above)
1998 Group exhibition, Zolani Centre, Nyanga. Exhibition listed on artist's CV, details not known (unclear if linked to mosaic exterior of Zolani Centre, which Makeleni participated in).
1997 Engaging the Shadows exhibition-project, Robben Island Museum. Colour photograph of two dolls produced by the artist featured along with listing in Mail & Guardian 6 February 1997.
1996 Primart Gallery, Claremont, Cape Town.
1996: Wood panel workshop and exhibition, AVA. Panel sold to unknown buyer.
1996 Community projects exhibition, South African National Gallery. Exhibition listed on artist's CV, details not known.
1995 Exhibited his first "Black Doll" at Primart, Claremont.
1994 Twenty Pieces of wood, British Council, Cape Town. Exhibition listed on artist's CV, details not known.
1993 Irma Stern Museum, Cape Town. Exhibition listed on artist's CV, details not known.
1993 Exhibited crafts at Red Shed, V & A Waterfront, Cape Town, as part of Masizakhe co-operative.
1993 Safmarine House, Cape Town. Exhibition listed on artist's CV, details not known.
1992-93 Made in Wood. South African National Gallery, Cape Town. Featured work "Sam Nujoma and Company". Catalogue includes b/w illustration of work and short biography.
1992 Visual Arts Group travelling exhibition at Zolani Centre, Nyanga; Uluntu Centre, Guguletu; Mayibuye Centre UWC; Centre for African Studies, UCT; and South African Association of Arts, Church Street. Featured several works, including "Mellow Yellow". Key role in running adult and childrens workshops at Zolani Centre.
1992 Mural painting exhibition- workshop, Baxter Theatre Gallery. Painted panel with Willie Bester and Vincent Silimela, purchased by Mayibuye Centre, UWC.
1991 [with Willie Bester and Ismael Thyssen], Gallery International, Cape Town. Featured several works, including "€œSam Nujoma and Company". Exhibition opened by Albie Sachs.
1991 Visual Arts Group travelling exhibition at Manenberg People's Centre; Zolani Centre, Nyanga; and Uluntu Centre, Guguletu. Featured several works including "Mandela and De Klerk": (Sold) and "Together Forever".
1987 Eye of the Artist, St Mary's Church, Guguletu. Organised by CAP students
1986 Primart Gallery, Claremont

Collections

Iziko Museums ("Seven Vices").
University of the Western Cape.
William Humphrey's Art Gallery, Kimberly.

Publications

Martin, Marilyn et al (1992) Made in Wood: Work from the Western Cape. South African National Gallery, Cape Town. ISBN 1 874817 07 3
Pissarra, Mario (2004) Botaki. Old Mutual asset Managers, Pinelands. Available online (click here) 
Pissarra, Mario (2011) (ed.) Visual Century: South African art in context. Vol 3: 1973-92. Wits University Press, Johannesburg. ISBN 978 1 86814 526 3. Introduction online (includes discussion of Makeleni)

Pissarra, M (2013) Against the Grain. ASAI, Cape Town, 64 pp. ISBN
978 0 620 57044 2

Other

1990 - c. 1993 Active member of Visual Arts Group Served on executive, including as chairperson.
c. 1992: Workshop for criminal offenders for Nicro, Mitchells plain. Run on behalf of Visual Arts Group.
c. 1992: Co-founder Masizakhe crafts co-operative.
1991: Member of Federation of South African Cultural Organisations (FOSACO) delegations in talks with the South African National Gallery, South African Association of Arts, and City of Cape Town, concerning the democratisation of para-statal cultural institutions.
Early 1980s: Founded Makeleni Arts & Crafts
Early 1980s: briefly associated with Nyanga Arts Centre and Community Arts Project

Links

Tyrone Appollis

Tyrone Appollis

b. Cape Town, 1957

Visual artist, musician and poet since the 1970s, Appollis works explore the interface between the challenges of the everyday and the limitlessness of the spirit and imagination.

Art Education

1978-1987: Mostly self-taught, part-time student at Community Arts Project.

Residencies

2004 Pro Helvetia Residency, Altes Spital, Solothurn, Switzerland.

1989 Toured Europe on British Council grant.

Exhibitions (solo)

2010 The Framery Gallery, Sea Point, Cape Town.

2008 These houses we live in, Irma Stern Museum, UCT, Cape Town.2006: Yesterday and Today, Sanlan Art Gallery, Bellville, Cape Town.

2001 No Apologies, Association for Visual Art, Cape Town.

1997 AVA, Cape Town.

1993 Karen McKerron Gallery, Johannesburg.

1992 Chelsea Gallery, Wynberg, Cape Town.

1988 South African Association of Art, Cape Town.

1982 Rocklands Library, Mitchells Plain, Cape Town.

Exhibitions (group)

2010 1910-2010: From Pierneef to Gugulective, Iziko South African National Gallery, Cape Town. International Museum Day, George Museum, George, South Africa.

2009 Precedents and Currents, Mayibuye Centre, UWC, Bellville, Cape Town. Decade, Sanlam Art Gallery, Bellville, Cape Town.

2007 africa south, AVA, Cape Town.

2006 Self portraits, Chelsea Gallery, Cape Town. Botaki 4, Old Mutual Asset Managers, Pinelands, Cape Town. Boland Kelder (with Garth Erasmus and Sophie Peters), Paarl.

2005 Botaki 2, OMAM; Botaki 3, OMAM, Cape Town.

2004 Arty milk cans, AVA, Cape Town.

2000 Itheko lokuza nethemba elitsha (A Celebration for Bringing New Hope), Bell-Roberts Fine Art Gallery, Cape Town.

1999 Post Cards from South Africa, Axis Gallery, New York.

1996 Cognizance, Ingqwalasela, Herkening., AVA, Cape Town.

1993 Salon Biennial, Grand Palais, Paris. I wish you well on your way (Tribute to John Muafangejo), Chelsea Gallery, Wynberg, Cape Town.

1991 Cape Town Triennial, South African National Gallery, Cape Town.

1990 Freedom Now, Conservatoire of Music, Windhoek, Namibia.

1989 Rahmen Gallerie (with Peter Clarke and Ishmael Thyssen), Langei, Germany.

1988 Artists against Apartheid, Luxurama Theatre, Wynberg, Cape Town.

Performances (poetry reading and music)

2010 Geroeste Musiek, Tyrone in Concert, Artscape, Athlone Civic Centre, Cape Town.

2009 Cape Town Book Fair (reading to children his new story The Silver Saxophone and The Magic Paintbrush), CTICC, Cape Town. Tyrone’s Geroeste Musiek, Voorkamer Fesival, Darling, Cape Town.

2008 Cape Town Book Fair, book launch, Train to Mitchells Plain, Cape Town. Poetry Africa, University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban.

2007 Joe Schaffers and fellow musicians (with Tyrone Appollis and Boeta Katjie), District Six Museum, Cape Town.

Public collections

Iziko South African National Gallery, University of Cape Town, University of Western Cape; Western Cape Provincial Government; Durban Art Gallery; Pretoria Art Museum; South Africa House, London; Department of Education, South Africa; Groote Schuur Hospital; Constitutional Court of South Africa; SASOL and SANLAM.

Private collections

Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu, Judge Albie Sachs, former President Nelson Mandela and former President Thabo Mbeki.

Commissions

2007 Ingrid Jonker Memorial, Gordon’s Bay, Cape Town. Sunday Tmes Heritage Project.

2006 Woolworths bags, Cape Town.

2004 Mural painting, Bridgeville Primary School, Cape Town.

1998 J&B Metropolitan Horse Race poster.

1997 City of Cape Town (painting for Archbishop Desmond Tutu’s Freedom of the City).

1996 SA Gourmet Festival poster.

Publications (books, magazines, newspapers, videos and catalogues)

2010 Friends pitch in for jazz maestro cancer

2009 Cultural vagabond has his own flair, Cape Times, August 27. T Appollis, The Silver Saxophone, Cambridge University Press, Cape Town. Appollis & Maclay-Mayers, The Magic Paintbrush, Cambridge University Press, Cape Town. S Hundt (ed.), Decade, Sanlam Life Insurance, Bellville (exhibition catalogue).

2008 Tyrone Appollis, Train to Mitchells Plain, Tyrone Appollis, Cape Town. Appollis art exhibition, Cape Times, September 9.

2006 S Hundt (ed.), Tyrone Appollis-Today and yesterday, Sanlam Life Insurance, Bellville. Appollis presents a study of contradictions, Cape Argus, September 1. Mario Pissarra, Botaki Exhibition 4: Conversation with Tyrone Appollis, Old Mutual Asset Managers, Cape Town (exhibition catalogue).

2005 C Blum, Kapkunst/Cape Art: 12 Portraits of South African Artists, Murmann, Hamburg. Mario Pissarra, Botaki: Exhibition 2: Conversations with Sophie Peters, OMAM, Cape Town.

2004 M Darrol et. al, Art for Aids Orphans Auction, Paperpback, Cape Town. Mario Pissarra, Botaki: Conversations with South African artists, OMAM, Cape Town. The rights of a child, Kwela Books, Cape Town & Lemniscaat, Rotterdam.

2003 McGee and Voyiya, The Luggage is Still Labelled: Blackness in South african Art (dvd).

1993 M Martin et. al, Made in Wood: Work from the Western Cape, South African National Gallery, Cape Town.

1991 C Till et. al, Cape Town Triennial, Rembrandt van Rijn Art Foundation, Cape Town. Tribute Magazine. A Sitas, William Zungu-Xmas Story, Buchu Books, Cape Town.

1988 G Ogilvie, The Dictionary of South African Painters and Sculptors, Everard Read, Johannesburg. A Oliphant, Ten Years of Staffrider, Ravan Press, Johannesburg. R Rive, Emergency, David Philip Publishers, Claremont.

Links

 

Train to Mitchells Plain Tyrone Appollis

2008. ISBN-13: 978-0620411387

 
Bold Strokes for the suffering Suzy Bell. Cape Times. 13 June 2012

 

Conversations with Tyrone Appollis [essay written for exhibition catalogue]

This essay was written for Botaki Exhibition 4: Conversations with Tyrone Appollis curated by Mario Pissarra for Old Mutual Asset Managers, Cape Town, 2005

Timothy Mafenuka

Timothy Mafenuka

Timothy Mafenuka (1966-2003) was born in Guguletu but raised in Tsomo in the Eastern Cape. He returned to live in Cape Town in 1982, settling soon after in Khayelitsha. Self-taught, Mafenuka’s imaginative art provides an enchanted view of the natural world, expressed through a creative use of materials.

Education

Self taught. Informally mentored by Xolile Mtakatya.
Several regional Thupelo Artists Workshops.

Exhibitions (solo)

2003 ‘Miracle of the Universe’, Greatmore Studios, Woodstock, Cape Town.
2003 DC Art, Cape Town
1992 Dorp Street Gallery, Stellenbosch, South Africa.

Exhibitions (group)

2007 Exhibition #1. Gill Alderman Gallery, Kenilworth.
2007 Exhibition to accompany international conference of Jungian psychologists, Cape Town International Conference Centre. Curated by Josie Grinrod and Kate Gottgens.
2004 ‘Botaki’, Old Mutual Asset Managers, Pinelands, Cape Town.
2001 ‘Imbizo-Gathering’, AVA, Cape Town.
2001 ‘Homecoming’, Gug’Sthebe, Langa, Cape Town.
2001 Alfred Mall Gallery, Waterfront, Cape Town.
1997 St. Stephen Church, Riebeeck Square, Cape Town.
1993 ‘Made in Wood: Work from the Western Cape’, South African National Gallery, Cape Town.
1992 Visual Arts Group, Mayibuye Centre, University of the Western Cape, Bellville, South Africa;
1992 Centre for African Studies, University of Cape Town.
1992 30 Sculptors from the Western Cape, US Gallery

Collections

South African National Gallery; numerous private collections in South Africa and abroad.

Commissions

Woolworths.

Publications

2013 Mario Pissarra, 'Against the Grain’, Cape Town : Africa South Art Initiative.
2004 Mario Pissarra, ‘Botaki: Conversations with Timothy Mafenuka’, Old Mutual Asset Managers, Cape Town.
2003 Martin, Proud et al (1993); Big Issue
1993 Martin, Marilyn; Proud, Hayden; et al, ‘Made in Wood: Work from the Western Cape’, South African National Gallery, Cape Town

Miracle of the Universe

© Mario Pissarra, 1/12/2005

Miracle of the Universe in the context of African sculpture

It is widely believed that South Africa and most of its neighbors have little of a wood sculpture “tradition” to compare in quality and interest with the rest of sub-Saharan Africa. Indeed it was only after the landmark exhibition “Tributaries” that South African wood sculptors really registered on the map. However while Tributaries redrew the boundaries for “sub-Saharan wood sculpture” it inadvertently created the impression that wood sculpture in South Africa was largely an isolated pocket of cultural expression (i.e. a phenomenon that, to the layperson, was defined ethnically and geographically as “Venda wood sculpture”).

There have been sporadic attempts to balance this position, by for example exhibitions at the SANG (Made in Wood: Work from the Western Cape) and in KZN (at DAG & the African Art Centre). However these efforts can be considered only moderately successful, in so far as some of South Africa’s finest wood sculptors continue to languish in the margins, while all of the wood sculptors represented in Tributaries have gone on to enjoy considerable opportunity and success. [1]

Miracle of the Universe in the context of the life and art of Timothy Mafenuka (1966-2003)

Born in Guguletu, Mafenuka spent much of his childhood in the rural village of Tsomo in the Eastern Cape where as a herd boy he carved wooden sticks and spoons. After completing his schooling he moved back to Cape Town (c.1982) to look for work. He worked as a fisherman in Namibia and the Eastern Cape, and as a chef at the Cape Sun. In Khayelitsha he came into contact with other local artists, notably Xolile Mtakatya, and by the early 90s he was working as a full-time artist. In the 90s he participated in several group exhibitions, including those of the Visual Arts Group. No less than five of his early works were selected by the SANG for its Made in Wood exhibition in 1992, and one was purchased for their permanent collection. A genuinely self-taught artist, Mafenuka’s qualities were recognised by the Thupelo Workshop who invited him to attend several regional workshops and one international one.

A dapper dresser with trademark pipe and brimmed hat, Mafenuka’s art differed from most of his contemporaries in that he used unorthodox materials that he often combined with wood (including shells, glass, sand, and rubber). However it was not only his lack of exposure to art education from NGO’s such as CAP, and his choice of materials that set him apart from of his contemporaries. Enchanted by the twin joys of life and the act of creation Mafenuka avoided the dominant themes of poverty and protest. In their place he developed a magical world of the imagination, ably expressed through his evocative imagery, striking use of materials, and (particularly in his prints and paintings) a vibrant use of colour.

As enterprising as he was innovative and resourceful Mafenuka’s lyrical mono-prints and smaller sculptures can still be found in small galleries across the Cape. He was also one of the few “St Georges Mall artists” who took a small shop for himself at the Pan-African Market. In recent years he held two solo shows, unfortunately both at low-key venues (DC Art, Cape Town; and according to his family another in Pietermaritzburg). When he fell ill last year a retrospective exhibition was organised on his behalf at Greatmore Studios.

Mafenuka’s crowning achievement as an artist has never been seen by a wide audience. His forte was wood sculpture, and c. 1992 he produced his first large totemic sculpture. In total he made only six of these. Three of them were bought by private collectors (from the UK, Japan, and Cyprus). Three remain in the collection of the family. The most ambitious of these is “Miracle of the Universe” which stands at over eight feet tall. That he knew he had created something special is not only evident in the title, but also in the fact that his signature appears no less than three times on the work!

Mario Pissarra 16 February 2004

Originally written as a motivation for the purchase of Miracle of the Universe by the South African National Gallery. The motivation was successful.

[1] With the tragic exception of Nelson Mukhuba

 

Thami Kiti

b. 1968, Machibini, Eastern Cape, South Africa; lives in Khayelitsha.

Thami Kiti moved to the informal settlement of Crossroads in the early 1980s, and presently lives in Khayelitsha. Kiti learned to carve at the Community Arts Project. His skilful carvings draw on his rural upbringing and Xhosa identity, and express deep respect for the natural environment and the medium of wood itself.

Biography

From the Against the Grain catalogue:

"Thami Kiti's works draw directly on his Xhosa culture, in particular, [the] frequently revisited theme of sacrifice that is associated with most significant ceremonies that mark rites of passage, such as initiation, birth, marriage and death. His strong interest in three-dimensional form and narrative is best seen in references to the [hybrid] female forms that he calls "goat women"... Kiti's "goat women" capture a transformative, liminal moment [that] is accentuated through the representation of movement...The [inclusion] of hybrid figures in Cries of Crossroads introduces the use of animal as metaphor for the human condition, whereas the dramatic interplay between goat and woman in several works [symbolizes] the interdependence between human and animal beings. In Kiti's animal sculptures this inter-relationship is more ambiguously handled..."

- Mario Pissarra.

Education

2018: ASAI Print Access Workshop, Michaelis School of Fine Art, Cape Town.
c. 1986 - 1995:  Part-time courses, Community Arts Project, Cape Town.

Group Exhibitions (South Africa)

2017: Innibos Laeveld Nasionale Kunstefees craft competition, Mbombela.
2013-14: Against the Grain, Iziko South African National Gallery, Cape Town; Sanlam art Gallery, Cape Town.
2005: Encompass, Cape Gallery, Cape Town.
2001: Homecoming, Gug’Sthebe, Langa, Cape Town.
1997: Shadows of Robben Island, Robben Island, Cape Town.
1995: Thami Kiti, Wanini Hill Group Show, Irma Stern Museum, Cape Town.
1994: The Loft, Cape Town.
1994: Idasa Gallery, Cape Town.
1994: Wood panels, Association for Visual Arts Gallery, Cape Town.
1992: Made in Wood: work from the Western Cape, South African National Gallery, Cape Town.
1991: Sculptors of the Western Cape (organized by Andrew Steyn and Mario Sickle), Stellenbosch; Centre for African Studies, University of Cape Town.
1990: Ricky Dyaloyi, Billy Mandindi, Wanini Hill, Thami Kiti Group Show, Joseph Stone, Athlone, Cape Town.
1990: Vuyisane Mgijima, Timothy Mafenuka and Xolile Mtakatya, Thami Kiti Group Show, Cape of Good Hope Castle, Cape Town (with ).
c. 1986 – 1993: Annual Exhibitions, Community Arts Project, Cape Town.

Collections

University of the Western Cape (Community Arts Project Collection).
Private collections in South Africa, United States and Europe, notably the Ronnie Levitan Estate, Cape Town.

Publications

2013: Mario Pissarra, Against the Grain, Africa South Arts I,nitiative (ASAI) Cape Town

Awards

2017: First prize, Innibos Laeveld Nasionale Kunstefees craft competition, Mbombela, South Africa.
 
 

Other

2008 - 2011: Assistant puppet maker, Handspring Puppet Company.  

1996: Thapong International Artists Workshop, Gaborone, Botswana.

Sonya Rademeyer

b. 1964, Zimbabwe; Lives in Cape Town, South Africa.

Sonya Rademeyer explores the relationship between bodily empathy and vision through her use of non-traditional materials and video.

Arts Education

1996: Bachelor of Art (BA), Fine Art, Willem de Kooning Academy, Rotterdam.

Solo Exhibitions (South Africa)

2019: All we need is a Conductor, North-West University Aardklop National Festival, North-West Province.
2019: The In-Between, Association of Visual Arts (AVA0 Gallery, Cape Town.
2011: Looking to See, Association of Visual Arts (AVA0 Gallery, Cape Town.
2009: not in a body of words, GUS Gallery, Stellenbosch.
2008: I am an African, Blank Projects, Cape Town.
2007: Babble, Association of Visual Arts (AVA) Gallery, Cape Town.
2005: Origin, Art-B Gallery, Cape Town.

Group Exhibitions (South Africa)

2020: Art in Isolation, Imibala Gallery, Graaff-Reinet; Imibala Gallery, Somerset West.
2020: Virtual National Arts Festival, curated show and Fringe, Makhanda.
2019: Miss/Seen, Vrystaat Arts Festival, Bloemfontein.
2019: Dwell in Possibility, Centenary Art Gallery University of the Free State, Bloemfontein.
2019: Memory & Mapping FreeSpace, Zeitz Mocca, Cape Town.
2019: Admin, UNTITLED, Cape Town.
2019: #unfinished Vol 7, Youngblood Gallery, Cape Town.
2018: Forward? Forward! Forward… Stellenbosch University Museum, Stellenbosch.
2018: Humanity: Friend or Foe, Youngblood Africa Gallery, Cape Town.
2018: OPENLab 2018, University of the Free State, Richmond.
2018: Tankwa Artscape, Northern Cape.
2016: Stories of Rain, AVA Gallery, Cape Town.
2015: Workshops’ Showcase, Warren Editions, Cape Town.
2015: SILENCE: Artworks on Paper, Cape Town.
2014: Joburg Fringe, Aerial Empire, Johannesburg.
2012: Appeal, Guerilla Gallery, Johannesburg.
2010: Mother Nature: Art and Psychology in Conversation, Sasol Art Museum, Stellenbosch.
2009: Ceramics Exhibition, William Humphrey Art Gallery, Kimberley.
2007: Flesh, Klein Karoo Nasionale Kunstefes, Oudtshoorn; X-Cape 07, Cape Town; National Arts Festival, Grahamstown;Cultivaria Festival, Paarl.
2006: Dept of Science & Technology National Art Competition, Rust-en-Vrede Gallery, Cape Town.
2005: Vuleka, Art-B Gallery, Cape Town.
2005: Brett Kebble Art Awards, Cape Town.
2004: Exfoliate, Art-B Gallery, Cape Town.
2004: Vuleka, Art-B Gallery, Cape Town
2003: AVA Members' Exhibition, Asoociation for Visual Arts (AVA) Gallery.
2003: Brett Kebble Art Awards, Cape Town.
2003: Vuleka, Art-B Gallery, Cape Town.
2003: PPC Young Sculptors Awards, Pretoria, South Africa.
2001: Women's Work, Cape Town.
1998: Unity in Diversity Arts Festival, Good Hope Gallery, Cape Town.

Group Exhibitions (international)

2020: hello world, TransCulturalExchange (online), Boston.
2019: Contemporary Nature, Tankwa Artscape Residency Exhibition, Sfintu Gheorghe.
2019: Live drawing performance, Stroud Green Festival, London.
2018: OtherLands. OtherSounds, Raizvanguarda, Bordeiro.
2016: 15th Lessandra World Art Print Annual, Sophia.
2013: Happening Now, Mojo Gallery, Dubai.
2009: Tape exhibition, Arnhem, Netherlands
2009: 1st International Art & Science Festival, Patra.
2009: International Incheon Women Artistsâ Biennale, Korea.
2009: One World, Many Papers, Distillery Gallery, Boston.
2008: Dwayer, L'Atelier Dâ Alexandrie, Alexandria.
2008: Dak'Art, Dakar.
2007: Cent livre Objects pour Senghor, Maison de la Culture Douta Seck, Dakar.
2006 - 2007: Self Portrait - A Show for Bethlehem, Al Kahf Gallery, Palestine; Oficyna Art Space, Szezecin; International Contemporary Art Center, Naples; Museum of Contemporary Art Rosario, Rosario; Museum of Contemporary Art Santa Fe, Santa Fe.
2007: Fleiss East West Artists, Muzeul de Art, Satu Mare.
2006: The Abstract Mind Mural of Science & Industry, Chicago.
2006: Too much Freedom? Freewaves, 10th Biennale Festival of Film, Video and Experimental Media, Hammer Museum, Los Angeles.
2006: Ecartista 1st Annual Exhibition (online), Egypt.
2005: Imagining the Book, International Biennale, Alexandria.
2005: New York International Independent Film and Video Festival, New York.
2005: A Cross Cultural View of Women in the Arts, Also Castillo Gallery, Chicago.
2005: Art at War Exhibition, Aldo Castillo Gallery, Chicago.

Collections

Private collections:
South Africa, United Kingdom, Egypt

Public collections:
Bibliotheca Alexandrina, Alexandria.
Department of Science & Technology, South Africa.
International Contemporary Art Centre, Naples.

Awards

2007: Distinction, 3rd Edition International Artistic Documentaries.
2004: Winner, New Media, Vuleka, Art-B Gallery, Cape Town.
2003: Merit Award, PPC Young Sculptor Award.

Shepherd Mbanya

b. 1965, Bishop Lavis, Cape Town, South Africa; lives in Khayelitsha.

Shepherd Mbanya was born in Bishop Lavis on the northern outskirts of Cape Town, but was raised in Queenstown in the Eastern Cape. Mentored by Isaac Makeleni, Mbanya’s evocative sculptures and paintings use narrative forms to communicate his often critical views on contemporary issues.

Education

Sivuyile College of Education.
Mbanya is a largely self-taught artist.

Artist Statement

From the Against the Grain catalogue:

"Mbanya applies a range of visual idioms, often within the same work, ranging from the lifelike to the abstract, the literal to the conceptual... Mbanya is strongly invested in narrative as a means of articulating and communicating his views on contemporary issues. His position is often boldly critical of power and politics, giving voice to dispossessed communities whose visions of a brighter future remain clouded by unfulfilled promises."

- Mario Pissarra

Group Exhibitions (South Africa)

2013 - 2014: Against the Grain: Sculptors from the Cape, Iziko South African National Gallery and Sanlam Art Gallery, Cape Town.
2013: Invocation, The Cape Gallery, Cape Town.
2012: Siyakubona. The Cape Gallery, Cape Town.
2012: Turn Around Time: Annual Winter Solstice Exhibition, The Cape Gallery, Cape Town.
2011: 20 Years: Thami Mnyele Foundation, Thami Mnyele Foundation, Amsterdam.
2011: Continuum: Annual Winter Solstice Exhibition, The Cape Gallery, Cape Town.
2007: africa south, Association for Visual Arts, Cape Town.
2005: Encompass, Cape Gallery, Cape Town.
1996: Sculptors in Wood, Association for Visual Arts, Cape Town.
1992: Unidentified gallery, Stellenbosch.
1992 - 1993: Made in Wood: Work from the Western Cape, South African National Gallery, Cape Town.
1991: Visual Arts Group travelling exhibition, Zolani Centre, Nyanga East; Manenberg Peoples Centre and Uluntu Centre, Guguletu; Centre for African Studies, University of Cape Town.
1991: South African Association of Arts, Cape Town.

Collections

Iziko Museums of South Africa, Cape Town.
Thami Mnyele Foundation, Netherlands.
Sanlam Art Collection, Cape Town.

Publications

2013: Mario Pissarra, Against the Grain, Africa South Art Initiative (ASAI), Cape Town.
2003: Chris Ledochowski, Cape Flats Details, South African History Online, Cape Town.
1992: Made in Wood: Work from the Western Cape, South Africa National Gallery, Cape Town.

Residencies

1996: Residency, Thami Mnyele Foundation, Amsterdam.

Maurice Mbikayi

b. 1974, Kinshasa, DR Congo; lives in Cape Town, South Africa.
Maurice Mbikayi is a multimedia artist, working in sculpture, installation, performance and photography. Mbikayi skillfully integrates digital debris with political themes, foregrounding the problems of Africa’s continued exploitation for the progress of the global tech industry. By repurposing tech waste into sculpture, Mbikayi highlights the underbelly of ‘advancement’ – exploitation of Black mining labour, environmental damage and systemic health risks.

A Creative Exchange

Getting under our skinSuzy Bell, Cape Times January 21, 2011

Maurice Mbikayi Art South Africa 2011

Maurice Mbikayi: The Creative Exchange

“Voyage Ensemble, A Journey Together” , Scalabrini Centre, Cape Town 2007. Exhibition booklet.
 
 

“Voyage Ensemble, A Journey Together” , Scalabrini Centre, Cape Town 2006

“Voyage Ensemble, A Journey Together” , Scalabrini Centre, Cape Town 2006 - Maurice

 

Arts Education

2015: Master of Fine Art with distinction, Michaelis School of Fine Art, Cape Town.
2009: Higher Certificate in Photography, Vega Brand Communication School, Cape Town.
2000: Graphic Design and Visual Communication, Institut des Beaux-Arts, Kinshasa.
1994: Diploma in Fine Art, Institut des Beaux-Arts, Kinshasa.

Solo Exhibitions (South Africa)

2019: Coucou Crumble, Gallery MOMO, Cape Town.
2016: Mupia-Mupia, Gallery MOMO, Johannesburg.
2011: Notre Peau, Association for Visual Arts, Cape Town; Centre for African Studies Gallery, Cape Town; Villa Arcadia, Johannesburg.
2010: Echoes, Alliance Francaise, Cape Town.
2007: Maurice Mbikayi, The Framery Gallery, Cape Town.

Solo Exhibitions (International)

2018: Mupia-Mupia, Fondation Friedrich Naumann, Dakar.
2018: Masks Of Heterotopia, Officine dell’Immagine, Milan.

Group Exhibitions (South Africa)

2019: Still Here Tomorrow to High Five You Yesterday…, Zeitz MOCAA, Cape Town.
2016: Paradoxal Stranger, Gallery MOMO, Cape Town.
2016: Troubled Land, Iziko South Africa National Gallery, Cape Town.
2015: On Entropy and Becoming, AVA Gallery, Cape Town; Constitution Hill, Johannesburg.
2011: Thinking Africa and the Diaspora Differently, Centre for African Studies Gallery, Cape Town.
2010: reasons to live in a small town, Goethe on Main Gallery, Johannesburg.
2010: Amani Festival, LookOut Hill, Cape Town.
2009: Artreach in progress, Association for Visual Arts, Cape Town.
2008: Soul of Africa, Development Bank of Southern Africa, Johannesburg.
2007: Human Rights Day, Iziko Slave Lodge, Cape Town.
2007: Reconciliation Day, Iziko Slave Lodge, Cape Town.
2007: Group Exhibition, Blank Projects, Cape Town.
2007: X-Cape Circuit, Scalabrini Centre, Cape Town, South Africa
2006: A Response to Picasso and Africa, Alliance Francaise, Cape Town.
2006: A journey together, Scalabrini Centre, Cape Town.
2006: Portrait, Association for Visual Arts, Cape Town.

Group Exhibitions (International)

2019: Face with Tears of Joy, Blitz, Malta.
2019: Digital Imaginaries: Africas in Production, Wits Art Museum, Johannesburg; Kër Thiossane, Dakar; ZKM, Karlsruhe.
2018: Congo Stars, Kunsthaus Graz, Graz.
2018: ON/OFF, Casa Victor Hugo, Havana; 17 Biennale De Lubumbashi, Lubumbashi.
2018: YOUNG CONGO, Kin ArtStudio, Kinshasa.
2018: Urban Axis / Another Antipodes, PS Art Space, Freemantle.
2018: WE CALL IT “AFRICA”, Artists From Sub-Saharan Africa, Officine dell’Immagine, Milan.
2014: Art of the Lived Experiment, The Bluecoat School Lane, Liverpool; Urban Institute for Contemporary Arts (UICA), Grand Rapids, Michigan.
2012: Window Exhibition/ Traces at Dock, Basel.
2011: Celeste Prize Finalists Exhibition & Awards, The Invisible Dog, New York City.
2010: AFRIKA SUR L’ÉVENEMENT POÉTIQUE, Centre Culturel des Mazades, Toulouse.
2008: The art of determination, Harare International Festival of Arts (HIFA), National Gallery of Zimbabwe, Harare.

Performances

2010: Voices, Spier Contemporary 2010 Biennale, City Hall, Cape Town.
2010: Minky Mwendo (Distant relationships), Mullineux Wine Cellar, Cape Town.
2010: Healing (with Lodi Paul Inga), Khayelitsha Festival of Cultural Diversity, Cape Town.
2008: Talking Heads (with Magdelena Kunz and Daniel Glaser), Pro Helvetia, Cape Town.

Collections

The Development Bank of South Africa, Midrand.
Hollard Corporate, Johannesburg.
Iziko South African National Gallery, Cape Town.
Scheryn Art Collection, Cape Town.
Progressive Art Collection, Mayfield Village, Ohio.
Yellowwoods Art, Cape Town.

Publications

2011: Business Art South Africa, July 27, p. 6. SA Art Times, February, p. 28. What’s on in Cape Town, Mail and Guardian, January 28 to February 3, p. 3. Cape Times, January 21
2010: Ruth Simbao, Cosmolocalism: The audacity of place, CCA Lagos Newsletter, no. 10, September-December. Jay Pather (ed.), Spier Contemporary 2010, Africa Center, Cape Town
2010 Sean O’Toole, Parting shot, Sunday Times, March 28. Art South Africa, Winter, vol. 8, issue 4
2007 Andrew Mulenga, Artistically brushing out xenophobia in SA, Weekend Post, November 30

Awards

2010-2011: The Hollard Creative Exchange Programme, Cape Town and Johannesburg.
2007: Best group proposal, Table Mountain Cable Way Station Award, Cape Town.

Other

2010: Up and Down with Steve Bandoma (research project from '2010 Reasons to live in small town'), VANSA, Cape Town and Johannesburg.
2010: Performance Arts Workshop (with Spier Contemporary), Hiddingh Hall, Cape Town.
2010: Portrait (film documentary for Red Cross Exchange programme), Cape Town.
2010: Stroke of genius (workshop facilitator), Department of Sport and Cultural Affairs & Department of Trade and Industry, Cape Town.
2009: Facilitator at Art therapy workshop for adolecents and elderly, CWD Trauma and Healing Project, Cape Town.
2009: Facilitator at Art therapy workshop for women with HIV/AIDS, CWD Trauma and Healing Project, Cape Town.
2009: Facilitator at Art therapy workshop for children, Lawrence House Shelter, Cape Town.
2007: Educational youth programmes with Kathy Coates (a series of mixed media installations), Annexe at Iziko South African National Gallery, Cape Town.
2007: The art of dissent (a film documentary with Lionel Davis, Jonathan Zapiro, Ruth Carneson), Cape Town.
2006-2007: Multimediations, Cape Africa Platform (with City Varsity), Cape Town.
2006: Facilitator at Art therapy workshop for refugee women and children, Scalabrini Centre, Cape Town.

Links

Ishmael Thyssen

b. Jan Kempdorp, Northern Cape, 1953. Lives in Steenberg, Western Cape.

Primarily a wood sculptor, Thyssen also paints, prints and carves relief panels. His often contemplative figures are influenced by modernist and African sources, as well as by social concerns.



Education

1976-1977: Art Class, Methodist Church, Somerset West, South Africa.
1980-1984: Studied at Community Arts Project (under Cecil Skotnes), Woodstock, Cape Town.

Exhibitions (solo)

2013 Return, The Framery Art Gallery, Sea Point, Cape Town.
2000 Association for Visual Arts, Cape Town.
2000 Winchester Hotel, Seapoint, Cape Town.
1991 Centre for African Studies, University of Cape Town.
1987 Riverside Centre, Rondebosch, Cape Town.

Exhibitions (group)

2014 ‘Against the Grain’, Sanlam Art Gallery, Bellville, South Africa.
2013 ‘Against the Grain’, Iziko South African National Gallery, Cape Town.
2006 Kalk Bay Modern (with Peter Clarke), Kalk Bay, Cape Town.
2002 ‘New directions’, The Framery Gallery, Sea Point, Cape Town.
2000 Greatmore Studios, Woodstock, Cape Town.
2000 Retreat Municipal library, Retreat, Cape Town.
1996 Galerie Knud Grothe, Charlttenlund, Denmark
1993 Manneberg Jazz Cafe’ (with Donovan Ward), Cape Town.
1992 Primordial Stirrings, Primart Gallery, Claremont, Cape Town.
1992 Village Studio, Constantia, Cape Town.
1992 ‘Made in Wood’, Iziko South African National Gallery, Cape Town.
1991 Gallery International (with Willie Bester and Isaac Makeleni), Cape Town.
1990/1991 ‘Art-on-the-box, [Primart], Cape Town.
1990 [Members exhibition], Dorp Street Gallery, Stellenbosch, South Africa.
1989 Centre for African Studies, University of Cape Town.
1989 Rahmen Galerie(with Peter Clarke and Tyrone Appolis), Langen, Germany.
1989 ‘Images of Wood’, Johannesburg Art Gallery.
1987 Cavendish Square, Claremont, Cape Town.
1987 African Treasures, National Touring exhibition, South Africa.
1986 South African National Gallery, Cape Town.
1984 Riverside Centre, Rondebosch, Cape Town. (organised by South African Institute of race relations)
1983 Gowlett gallery, Cape Town.
1982 Hugo Naude House, Worcester, South Africa.

Collections

Iziko South African National Gallery
Centre for African Studies (UCT) Collection
University of the Western Cape
Investec Bank Collection
Standard Bank

Publications

2013 Mario Pissarra, 'Against the Grain’, Cape Town : Africa South Art Initiative.
1993 Martin, Marilyn; Proud, Hayden; et al, ‘Made in Wood: Work from the Western Cape’, South African National Gallery, Cape Town
?1989 Images of Wood

Education

Other

Gerry Dixon

b. London, England, 1938; d. Knysna, Western Cape, 2015.

Gerry Dixon is a sculptor with an unorthodox approach to materials, which lends itself to provocative, often humorous expression.

Significant Migrations

1961: Emigrated to Australia.
1963: Returned to London.
1964: Emigrated to South Africa.
1983: Moved to Zimbabwe.
2000: Returned to South Africa.

Solo Exhibitions

Gallery Delta, Harare (1998, 1996, 1990, 1989). Universities of Cape Town, Natal (Pietermaritzburg) and Stellenbosch (1974-77).

Group Exhibitions

2007: ReCenter, Look Out Hill, Khayelitsha, Cape Town.africa south, AVA, Cape Town.
1989-91, 1994-98: Zimbabwe Heritage, National Gallery of Zimbabwe, Harare.
1995, 1993: Pachi Pamwe, Harare.
1990, 1991: Sculpture in Wood, National Gallery of Zimbabwe, Harare.
1990: Zimbabwe Heritage, Auckland, New Zealand.c. 1990: Commonwealth exhibition, Australia.
1989-96: Annual group exhibitions, Gallery Delta.
1979-81: Group exhibitions, Cape Town.
1977: Group exhibition, Cape Town.
1974: Group Exhibition [Aquarius/ Nusas] Universities of Natal (Pietermaritzburg) and Cape Town.

Workshops

1995: Pachi Pamwe International Workshop, Shurugwi, Zimbabwe.
1993: Pachi Pamwe International Workshop, Marondera, Zimbabwe.
1974: Aquarius (Nusas) Workshop, University of Natal, Pietermaritzburg.

Collections

New Zealand College. Dieleman Gallery, BrusselsPrivate collections in Australia, Cyprus, Germany, Mauritius, Netherlands, South Africa, UK, USA, and Zimbabwe.

Publications (catalogues)

1997 National Gallery of Zimbabwe presents MBCA Decade of Award Winners: Zimbabwe Heritage
1986-1996 Contemporary Visual Arts, National Gallery of Zimbabwe, Harare
1994 Sculpture in Wood, Alliance Francaise Harare.
1989 Zimbabwe Heritage
1989 Baringa/ Nedlaw Annual Exhibition of Contemporary Visual Arts, National Gallery of Zimbabwe, Harare.

Publications (Art Magazines)

1990 History. Gallery, March.
1998 Gillian Wright, “Gerry Dixon – the last parrot”, Gallery, pp. 19-25.
1996 Murray Mc Cartney, “Gerry Dixon on site”, Gallery, December: pp. 2-7 (plus both covers).
1994 Gallery, December no.21974: “Loners”, Speak, Cape Town.

Awards

1998, 1995, 1989: Award of Merit, Zimbabwe Heritage exhibitions, National Gallery of Zimbabwe, Harare.
1994, 1989: Highly Commended Certificate, Zimbabwe Heritage exhibitions, National Gallery of Zimbabwe, Harare.
1991 Overall Award of Distinction, Sculpture in Wood, National Gallery of Zimbabwe, Harare.

Commissions

1997 Alliance Francaise [Wood sculpture, Central Park, Harare].

Undocumented Artworks

1972 Multiple Columns (sculpture), earthworks, stone & wood. The Point (sculpture), wood, metal, plastic. Reality (5 component painting), acrylic on board, 70 x 70cm each. Peace?, oil on board, 7 x 7m; all Cape Town.
1964 Burning event. Burned all paintings (except Paranoia), London.
1963 Paranoia. oil on canvas, 2.5 x 1.5m, Brisbane (first painting).
1962 Bones, colour added to bleached bones and suspended, West Queensland Desert, Australia (realisation of role as artist)
1959-61: Chalk graffiti, London Underground (1959-61).

Film

1973 Trance, 4 x 20 minute Super 8 recordings of various light phenomena, mainly reflections off water. To be edited for continuous on 5 x 3 m digital screen. Shown at first “€œOther” Film Festival, Cape Town.

Music

1973 Terminal, continuous sine wave at 993hz, 10 units produced, University of Cape Town. Transformation, 20 min unaccompanied piano. Nails, participation piece

Music Performance

1973 Terminal, various sites at UCT including Michaelis Art School, Education Block, and Psychology Department. Sound Sculpture, UCT; University of Natal (Pietermaritzburg); University of Stellenbosch; plus miscellaneous venues, weekly, Cape Town
(1973-5). Spontaneous Music Ensemble, Peter Klatzow, piano; David Kantey, guitar & vibraphone; Dixon, sinewaves & drum, South African College of Music, UCT. Pianist for Terry Riley’s In ‘C’, South African College of Music, UCT. Intermediate Formations, music group with Sherwin Mark, Mike Hammon, & others, South African College of Music, UCT. Solo Drumming, Pencil on upturned wastepaper bin with amplification, University of Natal, Pietermaritzburg.

Music Production

1988: Produced mobile “Scratch” version for Harare. Operating around high density suburbs. Biggest event: Independence Day Celebrations, Central Park, Harare1983. Sound system used for miscellaneous public events until “destroyed by opposing forces”.
1978-82: Formed Modern Dance Syndicate, “Scratch” Dance Club, Cape Town. Originated bass sound system and DJ controls with 5 channel equilizer- first time in South Africa.
1973-74: Designed and built 40 sound source continuous sine/ square wave tones for performance.
1974 Developed guitar bow for creating drone-like rhythms.1965: Monthly dance session presenting Sax Jive (featuring Lemmy Special) and other black musicians, Johannesburg- stopped by “The Branch” (Security Police)

Culinary

1972 “€œOld Cape Seed Loaf” created recipe and name: now available throughout South Africa.
1971-74: Facilitated importation of first sunflower seed hulling machine. Wheat Control Board refused licence to open bakery.

Work Experience

Since 1998: Continuous production of paintings and concept sculpture.
1966-70: Advertising Copywriter/ Creative Director, Newman & Associate (Dixon was the “associate”), Johannesburg.
1962 8 month long oil survey, West Queensland Desert, Australia.
1954-61: Diesl apprenticeship (Transport: manufacturing, design, experimental research), Leyland (London).Chief Design Engineer, Leyland (Johannesburg): Transport Trailer Division – designed and built first car transporters in South Africa. Designed and built metal-elastic abnormal load suspension (3 axles to carry 60 tons) for hydroelectric component transport).

Education

1971: Economics I & II, University of Cape Town.

Gerry Dixon On Site Murray McCartney, Gallery (issue #10) December 1996

 

Gerry Dixon, The Last ParrotGallery, Murray McCartney (issue #16) June 1998

Gerry Dixon - The last parrot-Gallery Magazine 16, June 1998

 

In Praise of ArtistsGallery, Murray McCartney (issue #15) March 1998

Gerry Dixon - In Praise of Artists_01

 

The Last Parrot, Gerry Dixon

Gerry Dixon – The Last Parrot

Gerry Dixon – The Last Parrot

Gerry Dixon’s autobiography, interspersed with portraits by the artist
Available fromThis e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it ” target=”_blank” rel=”noopener noreferrer”>This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
Mobile: +27 (0) 83 469 3053, Tel: +27(0)44 3826476).

 

Remembering Gerry Dixon, creative spirit and social sculptor: eulogy on the occasion of the memorial celebration of Gerry Dixon (1938-2015), Knysna, 24 July 2015

If you google ‘Gerry Dixon” you will find there are many people with that name. But everyone who knew the Gerry Dixon we did, will, most likely, only know some of the people who made up the extraordinarily rich personality that he was. Certainly, name aside, there was probably no British born person of his generation whose life followed the same, or even similar path, and while there are many artists whose work crosses the visual and the sonic, it is unlikely that his creative output could be confused with that of any other.

Gerard Dixon was born in Southhall, London on 24 June, 1938. He grew up in an England devastated by the war. Gerry was brought up by his working class, socialist father, having lost his mother at a young age, and having been separated from his younger sister who was sent to an orphanage. He grew up distrusting authority, and deeply resistant to conformity. Apprenticed, from the age of 12 as an engineer to Leyland, he was constantly looking outwards, and it is perhaps not surprising that his interest went into exploring the vestiges of empire, then recently reconstituted as the Commonwealth. In 1961 he emigrated to Australia, experiencing truly wild times with characters that, as he put it, were at their sweetest 200 times tougher than Crocodile Dundee. It was, strange as it may seem, in the Australian outback that he discovered jazz, and it was also in the desert that he first found his calling as an artist. In Brisbane, 1963, he began painting, and he was proud that his first significant painting was called “paranoia”, before the term had entered common usage. Returning to London, he decided to travel over land, beginning in India. It was during this journey that he ‘discovered’ hemp and the ‘East’ before these became fashionable in the counter culture of the 1960s.

Back in England, Gerry responded to a notice in a British newspaper, inviting Britons to emigrate to South Africa. In retrospect this advertisement can be understood as being part of the South African government’s efforts to bolster white rule by recruiting European settlers in the post-Sharpeville period. But Gerry knew little about South African politics, and fancied an easy (or easier) life in a imagined Johannesburg that he thought was on the banks of a river (The Vaal), where there would be lots of fishing and swimming. This idea was shattered on his arrival, and certainly he was to prove to be anything but an ordinary settler.

Initially Gerry found work as a chief design engineer at Leyland, where his achievements included designing the first articulated vehicle trailers in South Africa. Always alert to music, he was delighted to discover Kohinoor records, whose collection of jazz music he found to be far more extensive than what was available in London at that time. Barely a year after his arrival Gerry was organizing monthly live music dance sessions featuring black musicians in central Johannesburg. Predictably, these events were closed down by the security police.

In 1966 Gerry moved on to working as a copyrighter and creative director, as the un-named associate in a media company. This period gave him perspectives into the links between marketing and social control, issues that were to preoccupy him throughout most his adult life.

In 1970 Gerry moved to Cape Town, where, he was inspired by the idea of ‘social sculpture’ advocated by (German conceptual artist) Joseph Beuys, where art involved real people in real time, with an emphasis on deconditioning society. He created “Old Cape Seed Loaf”, one of the first health bread alternatives in South Africa that is still on the market. He applied for a license to open a bakery, but this was turned down by the authorities. Undeterred Gerry continued to bake, distributing his loaves by hand to the few bakeries that were receptive to his product.

The early 1970s were also important for Gerry’s experimental music practice. He had been drumming sporadically from at least the early 1960s, but after discovering Terry Riley’s ‘In C”, his focus shifted towards electronic music. His proudest achievement was the sine-wave machine he built that he used for experimental performances, mostly conducted at various sites at the University of Cape Town, including the Psychology Department, College of Music and Fine Arts school.

In 1979 Gerry met Henry (Coombes, Mauritian artist and dj and a lifelong friend), and through Henry he met Jane (Taylor), Frankie (Kruger), myself and others, with an unofficial ‘headquarters’ at 10 Camp Street. He moved in with Jane, (her son) Dylan, and (Henry’s son) Sarane to 22 Camp Street, with the two homes becoming the effective social and organizational hub of what was to become an extraordinary chapter in the lives of many people living in Cape Town.

At that time, we would gatecrash other people’s parties with Henry’s unique record collection, (mostly imported reggae and new wave). Without Gerry this would probably have not progressed beyond a series of exuberant parties. It was Gerry who saw the possibilities for a new club culture, and he organized what was initially a one-night event in Sea Point (at Ellingtons, the in-house club for the hotel Claridges). Borrowing the title of a song by Canadian band Pere Ubu, the event announced itself as ‘The Modern Dance’. An all-white affair, attended by what then represented the emerging ‘alternative’ music scene in Cape Town, the first night was successful enough for us to be invited back five weeks later, then three weeks. One of our circle, Lee (Hobbs), identified a gay club in the centre of town, 1886 Long Street, with a declining clientele. We were given the Wednesday night slot, which were so successful that we soon took over the Friday and Saturday slots as well. While 1886 was pumping, Gerry was quietly putting together the pieces to take this project to another level. Having registered a private company, The Modern Dance Syndicate, he secured the lease to an abandoned club at 88 Shortmarket Street. (These premises, then filled with rubble, was formerly The Navigators Den, a dive for sailors and prostitutes that is memorialized in the history of South African documentary photography through the photographs of Billy Monk).

The new club, called Scratch, (named after Jamaican music legend Lee Scratch Perry), opened in 1979.

Gerry’s role in Scratch was pivotal. He designed the sound-system, second to none, as everyone who was there can vouch. He put together the steady supply of new music from (London based) Dub Vendor, this in the time of the cultural boycott. He ensured the smooth running of events, and he was the frontline person dealing with the authorities. He also intermittently played records, selecting the slowest, heaviest tunes, some of which, like Lee Perry’s ‘Who slew the chicken?’, I’m sure were never played in any club or sound system anywhere! And who can forget his dancing? He would pick his spot where he got the optimum benefits of the sound and hold it as long as he was not needed elsewhere.

Scratch’s biggest achievement was in breaking the racist, sexist apartheid mould. It was a genuinely integrated club, that apart from the initial core of rebellious white youth, attracted hundreds of young, emerging rastas from the townships. It was a place where women could dance freely without harassment, and where gays and lesbians were welcome.

There was little décor, the club was painted black, broken only by a map of Africa in front of the elevated dj booth, and a large florescent orange ‘No’ that Gerry painted on the one wall.

It was inevitable that Scratch would be identified as a site of social deviance. Breaking racial, gender and sexual taboos, it was an island of cultural resistance in an oppressive ocean. When the authorities gave up searching for evidence of selling alcohol without a licence, something we didn’t do as we saw alcohol as part of the culture we rejected, they enacted archaic legislation to prevent dancing on Sundays, closing us down at midnight on Saturday evenings. We responded by opening earlier, and eventually they gave that one up, but resorted to increasing raids on the club, releasing teargas canisters into the premises. The police also began turning away and assaulting township patrons, and conducted increased raids on Camp Street, and Gerry received death threats. By this time, Scratch had evolved into an almost entirely reggae club frequented by a mostly black clientele. Finally, a group of plain clothed police attacked patrons outside the club. Jane and Gerry were among those beaten, but it was Gerry who bore the brunt of the attack, he was beaten till he lost consciousness.

It was clear that Scratch’s days were numbered, and in 1983 Gerry and Jane departed for Zimbabwe, then newly independent. Henry left for Mauritius. A new generation, (among them Steve Gordon), took over the doomed club, and subsequently opened other short-lived initiatives inspired by Scratch. Gerry had also designed a mobile sound system which was used for township gigs (many of them featuring rasta deejay Jeff Thomas, a legendary figure in Cape Town’s reggae scene, who had also become one of the Scratch djs). Later, another former regular (Justin Dyssel) would open The Base at Scratch’s old premises.

In Harare Gerry plugged into a thriving reggae sound system culture. He built a mobile sound system that was used in low-income communities. He had also designed a giant set of four speakers that were used for many events. These included official occasions, such as independence day celebrations in Harare stadium. Among those who used his equipment was Thomas Maphumo.

Around the time he turned 50, and not long after the birth of (his son) Garvey, Gerry rediscovered his identity as a visual artist. Working principally with a wide range of woods, often introducing resin and other synthetic or found materials, Gerry produced strikingly original works with a high technical finish. Many were cheeky and whimsical, with a predilection for puns and titles that were poised between the absurdity of neo-dada and incisive social critique. For just over 10 years he enjoyed reasonable critical and commercial success, exhibiting regularly in group shows at Gallery Delta and the National Gallery. He received several merit awards for his contributions to annual exhibits at the National Gallery, and was chosen to represent Zimbabwe at the Commonwealth exhibit in New Zealand. His art was discussed at length in two articles in Gallery magazine, (edited by Barbara Murray), and he participated in two Pachipamwe workshops (part of the Triangle Network). Among his sales several works were bought by the Diehleman Gallery in Belgium.

But not everything went smoothly. A sign of things to come was when Maphumo’s sound crew returned Gerry his speakers, throwing them off the back of a truck. So died a remarkable set of speakers, so ended a chapter in Gerry’s life. Another sign of things to come was when he spent a few days in jail after responding violently to a house robbery. Jane and Garvey returned to South Africa in 2000, Jane and Gerry having separated earlier. But the tipping point came during the period of so-called land invasions. Gerry was attacked twice in his home. He responded to the second attack by leaving immediately for South Africa.

Gerry lived briefly in Knysna, where Jane and Garvey had settled, and then went on to house-sit in Napier (a rural village in the Westen Cape). There he met Lynne (Greenwood Smith), who offered him an indefinite stay as house-sitter, first, briefly at Napier, later at Pearly Beach (a remote village, near Gansbaai). With Lynne frequently away, Gerry spent much of his time on his own, with only Lynne’s dogs for company. He thrived on the natural environment, and found that much of the area had a white stone that was suitable for carving. He was immensely prolific, producing many sculptures and hundreds of drawings.

But, despite this late rejuvenation of his creative talent, Gerry struggled to find an outlet for his work, and he sold little. He also lost several works when galleries holding his sculptures on consignment closed down without informing him. Equally unsettling, his photographic records of his works were harshly depleted following unsuccessful efforts to introduce his works to the Everard Read Gallery in Johannesburg and the Serpentine Gallery in London.

With little recognition of his work as a sculptor since his return to South Africa, living on a meager pension, and faced with a range of ongoing ailments, one could have expected that much of this late work would have been grim or negative in tone. But not so, much of the work Gerry made at Pearly Beach builds on the achievements of his earlier Harare sculptures. There is the innovative approach to materials, the fine attention to detail, and a lightness of tone that expresses a delight with making, and with being in the world. That so much of this work affirms spirit serves as a constant reminder of the Gerry who, while being such a distinct and individualist character, was at heart a very social being whose vision and actions made a profound impact on the lives of many who were privileged to know him, as well as on countless others who benefitted from his generosity.

Certainly, my own life was significantly affected through my friendship with Gerry, and I give thanks for the positive ways in which I grew through our exhilarating encounters. Rest in peace, dear friend.

Mario Pissarra

Donovan Ward

b. Cape Town, 1962. Lives and works in Cape Town.

Working innovatively with found objects, images, text and paint, Donovan Ward provocatively addresses issues of globalisation and identity.

Coloured by the Other

© Donovan Ward, 03/04/2012

Ideally art is a space for exploration, playing and learning. This work is the antithesis of creativity as its producers abdicate their individualised voices to work within a predetermined framework. This work is presented as a primed, colour by numbers canvas with a portrait, in black line, of an influential, powerful recognisable person who speaks for government and who has gained notoriety for his racialised comments. The lines mark out areas where 10 premixed colours are to be applied. Each area is numbered to correspond to the supplied colours. Viewers are invited to assist in sequentially painting it by referring to the colour code and painting instructions. The completed painting reveals this subject as altered identity. The restrictive, predictable method and outcome of production also metaphorically illustrates the simplistic way people are essentialised or constructed by power elites .

Donovan Ward,
Ingekleur: Outside The Lines The AVA Gallery, Cape Town l 12 March – 4 April 2012

Gugulethu Seven Memorial

© Donovan Ward & Paul Hendricks, 15/03/2006

On 3 March 1986 in the township of Gugulethu, seven youth were murdered by the South African state. The Gugulethu Seven memorial, dedicated to these seven youth who lost their lives during the liberation struggle, is located in close proximity to where the killings occurred. The memorial is built from Rustenberg granite, steel, screws, tile adhesive, bronze, bricks, cement and concrete. The sculpture represents a discontinuous wall like structure. The seven figures cut out from the concrete and granite slabs speak to the seven families and the nation’s loss. The poses representing the seven youth are suggestive of play, dance and resistance, as it seeks to capture their humanity and spirit despite their absence. Their silhouetted forms are derived from the stenciled and spray-can art of the 1980s. On the supporting plinth, beneath each figure, is a bronze plaque with information on it dedicated to one of the youth. Each one of the seven youth are represented in this way. The bronze plaques do not all bear portraits and dates of birth (due to the non-availability of personal details of certain of the youth). Each of the seven plaques however contain the name and date-of-death of the youth. The layout and wording of the plaques are styled on the silk-screened type commemorative posters of the 1980s. The work pays tribute to and commemorates those who made the ultimate sacrifice to build a better South Africa and indeed world. The work is also representative of nation building, as it displays elements of ruin or incompleteness juxtaposed with areas that appears to have been recently built, thus echoing the Nicaraguan woman poet Vidaluz Meneses message: “Pain has been our challenge and the future our hope. We build as though composing a poem: writing, erasing, and creating anew”. These words reflect the spirit of the memorial, as it captures elements of completeness and incompleteness; ruin and visible structure, regularity and irregularity, asserting graphically and symbolically potential, possibility and hope.

Donovan Ward & Paul Hendricks Details of image: Finished drawing for Memorial

Barbie Bartmann: Homecoming Queen

© Donovan Ward, 11/12/2005

Generalised representations become fixed within a culture and conceptualised as if ‘true’ because constant repetition in a variety of forms and locales validate the oft repeated image and lends credibility to mytholised forms. Barbara Buntman, Whose Identity do we see? Born in 1789 in the vicinity of the Eastern Cape, Sara Bartmann lived for a short period as a slave near Cape Town. Baptised in in 1811 as Sara Bartmann, a ‘Hottentot’ from the Cape Colony, her indigenous name is unknown to us. It was in England and later Paris that Sara Bartmann was displayed as a sexualized exotic object, and subjected to medical and anthropological scrutiny. In Paris she allegedly lived as a prostitute, and after her death there in 1818 her dissected body was displayed at the Musee de lâ Homme as a museum curiosity. It was only 184 years later, in 2002, that her remains were repatriated to her homeland, where she was buried as a Khoisan woman near the little town of Hankey . Sara Bartmann has become a controversial and contentious historical figure, as many groups and individuals claim the right to represent her, and have contested the various roles she apparently assumed. Sara Bartmann most probably belonged to the Gonaqua tribe, and was called many things in her lifetime. These included a ‘slave’, ‘Hottentot’, ‘showgirl’ and ‘prostitute’. Presently, she continues to be labeled an ‘exotic aboriginal woman’, ‘Khoisan woman’, ‘ouma’, ‘mama’, and ‘mother of the nation’. This work attempts to explore the complexity of an African Identity as it relates to Sara Bartmann. It challenges stereotypical representations of community and fixed identities associated with race, class, culture and language. While on the one hand this work acknowledges Sara Bartmann as a national icon symbolising South Africa’s fragmented history, I also selected her image to highlight the manner in which historical images and symbols have been appropriated and commodified in a world of commercial interests.

Donovan Ward

The Corporate Garden

Power in its various forms often overrides as well as mimics ethical and environmental interests. This artwork informs and is informed by my ongoing observations of dislocation, erasure and substitution.

Past land theft and new forms of dispossession, particularly gentrification, the desecration of burial sites by property developers, and more generally the erasure of physical memory, one that connects people to history, are engaged with in varying degrees in this artwork. Alluded to in this piece as well, are forms of real estate development, which corresponds with global neo-liberal models that drive ‘development’ projects but are disproportionately harmful to the environment and human beings.

Made from fabricated, organic and inorganic objects, this art piece, the size of a grave, constitutes a landscape embodying contradiction, contrast and paradox. The fictitious sections of the work include plastic flowers, razor wire, cement, and a synthetic lawn used at burial ceremonies superimposed on indigenous flora and fauna. Remnants of the natural environment were collected from the lower slopes of Table Mountain, close to an encroaching residential area, and incorporated into the work; they include bone fragments, dead insects, stones, bits of dried indigenous plants, leaves and gravel.

Through juxtaposing the artificial with the real and superimposing the synthetic over the natural, this work speaks to the displacement of the natural and native by imitation and simulation. It, moreover, points to the paradoxical role of technology in exposing yet furthering the ‘dis-placement’ and ‘re-placement’ of the natural and indigenous with simulated fictive environments.

Donovan Ward

Art Education

1991: Part-time (sculpture), Community Arts Project, Woodstock, Cape Town.
1982-1985: Ruth Prowse School of Art, Salt River, Cape Town.

Workshops & Residencies

2023: ASAI print co_lab Screen Printing Workshop, Michaelis, University of Cape Town
2023: ASAI Print Access Workshop, Michaelis, University of Cape Town
2019: Sans Frontier, Hardground Printmakers, Association for Visual Arts, Cape Town.
2018-19: Mural Artwork Co-ordinator, Pelican Park Community Day Centre, Cape Town.
2016: District 6 Clinic Art Workshop, Facilitator, District 6 Museum, Cape Town. 
2016: Sans frontiers, Hard Ground Printmakers, The Home Coming Centre, Cape Town.
2015: ASAI In Print/In Focus, Michaelis Gallery, University of Cape Town, Cape Town.
2013: Local Artists Public Artmaking Project, Lentegeur Civic Office, Mitchells Plain,  Cape Town.
2009: Drakenstein Remembers June 16 Visual Art Workshop, Cape Winelands, Western Cape. 
2004: 10, Castle of Goodhope, Cape Town.
2002: Spirit of the Place, Bangor, Wales.
1995: Thupelo Workshop, Cape Town.

Solo exhibitions

2014: Brutalised Barbie, Association for Visual Arts, Cape Town.
2005: Barbie Bartmann: Homecoming Queen, Association for Visual Arts, Cape Town.
2002: Ash, Dust and Trade Marks, Bell-Roberts Gallery, Cape Town.
1998: Residues and Emergences, Mau Mau Gallery, Cape Town.

Group exhibitions (local)

2023: print co_lab, Michaelis Galleries, University of Cape Town
2022: Palimpsest, Leeuwenhof Slave Quarters Remembrance Gallery, Cape Town
2019: There and back to see how far it is, Association for Visual Arts, Cape Town.
2016: Beyond Binaries, Essence Festival, Durban.
2015: In Print/In Focus, Michaelis Gallery, University of Cape Town.
2012: Ingekleur: Outside the Lines, Association for Visual Arts, Cape Town.
2001-12: Natural Selection, Association for Visual Arts, Cape Town.
2010: View from the South, Everard Read Gallery, Cape Town.
2009: In Black and White, Bell-Roberts Gallery, Cape Town.
2009: Sex Power Money, Everard Read Gallery, Cape Town.
2009: Wood, Association for Visual Arts, Cape Town.
2007: ReCenter, X Cape, Look Out Hill, Khayelitsha, Cape Town.
2007: Africa South, Association for Visual Arts, Cape Town.
2007: Greenhouse: From Painting to Plastic, Bell-Roberts Gallery, Somerset West, South Africa.
2006: Anthology, Everard Read Gallery, Cape Town.
2006: 20 artists 06, Bell-Roberts Gallery, Cape Town.
2006: 20 artists 06, Art on Paper Gallery, Johannesburg.
2005: Botaki Exhibition 3, Old Mutual Asset Managers, Cape Town.
2005: Man, Rust-En-Vrede Gallery, Cape Town.
2004: Upfront and Personal, Iziko South African National Gallery, Cape Town.
2004: Botaki, Old Mutual Asset Managers, Cape Town.
2004: Art Cool, Bell-Roberts Gallery, Cape Town. 
2004: Gender and Visuality, University of the Western Cape, Bellville.
2004: 10, Everard Read Gallery, Cape Town.
2003: Supermarket, Klein Karoo Nationale Kunstefees, Oudtshoorn, South Africa. 
2001: Telling Tales, 3rd I Gallery, Cape Town.
2000: Allsorts, Bell-Roberts Gallery.
2000: Praat, Thetha, Talk, Idasa Gallery, Cape Town.
2000: One City Festival, Returning the Gaze, Public Art Project, Cape Town.
1999: Prophecy 2000, 3rd I Gallery, Cape Town.
1999: New Beginnings, Battswood Art Centre, Grassy Park, Cape Town.
1998: Dis Nag, Iziko South African National Art Gallery, Cape Town.
1998: Urban Objects of Desire, Mau Mau Gallery, Cape Town.
1998: Ekhaya, Tsoga Environmental Resource Centre, Langa, Cape Town.
1997: District Six Public Sculpture Project, District Six, Cape Town.
1997: The Legacy of Steve Biko, District Six Museum, Cape Town.
1997: Committees Choice, Association for Visual Arts, Cape Town.
1996: Barricaded Rainbow…,  Centre for African Studies, University of Cape Town, Cape Town.
1996: 5 Cape Artists, Iziko South African National Art Gallery, Cape Town.
1996: Beyond the Rainbow, Athlone Civic Centre, Cape Town.
1995: Outsider Art, Market Gallery, Johannesburg.
1995: Volkskas Atelier Award National Exhibition, University of Stellenbosch.
1995: Volkskas Atelier Award Regional Exhibition, South African Association of Arts, Cape Town.
1994: Man on Woman, Seeff Trust Art Gallery, Cape Town.
1993: The Art of Peace, Seeff Trust Art Gallery, Cape Town.
1991: Community Arts Project Exhibition, Woodstock, Cape Town.
1990: Pieces of Africa, Athlone Technical College, Cape Town.

Group exhibitions (international)

2007: Apartheid/ the South African Mirror, Centre de Cultura Contemporania de Barcelona, Spain.
2007: Uniform: South Africa’s New Clothes, Spanierman Modern, New York.
2007: The Art of Revolution, Saba Cultural and artistic Institute, Tehran.
2002: DAK’ART 2002 Biennale, Dakar, Senegal.
2001-2003: Spirit of the Place, Bangor, Wales.

Other projects

2019-2020: Exhibition Designer, Robben Island Museum, Cape Town.
2018-19: Mural Artwork Coordinator, Pelican Park Community Day Centre, Cape Town.
2017-18: Exhibition Designer, Robben Island Museum Restoration Project, Cape Town.
2016: District 6 Clinic Art Workshop, Facilitator District 6 Museum, Cape Town.
2015-16: Project Manager & Exhibition Designer, Delville Wood Transformation Project, France.
2013: Artwork Coordinator & Facilitator, Lentegeur Civic Office, Mitchells Plain, Cape Town.
2009: Artwork Coordinator and Facilitator, Drakenstein Remembers June 16 Visual Art Workshop, Cape Winelands, Western Cape.
1999: Anti Racism mural (in collaboration with artists and learners), Landsdowne Public Library, Cape Town.

Public collections

Katherine Harris Print Cabinet, University of Cape Town
Iziko South African National Gallery, Cape Town.
Durban Art Gallery, Durban.
Delville Wood South African National Museum, Longueval, France.
University of South Africa, Pretoria.

Private collections

ESKOM Art Collection
The Ellerman House Collection
The Earl of Spencer Collection
Annette and Peter Nobel Collection

Commissions

2016: Devils Wood, Delville Wood South African National Museum, Longueval, France. (Assisted by Ayesha Price, Robin Ward & Mark Hanning.)
2011: UDF Memorial, Rocklands Civic Centre Mitchells plain, Commissioned by the City of Cape Town[ In collaboration with Paul Hendricks].
2011: Ashley Kriel Memorial, Community House, Salt River, Cape Town.
2010: Building and Wood Workers International, Trophy Design.
2009: Media & Labour Award Design, Workers World Media Productions.
2006: Meru, Artwork Commission, Safmarine.
2006: Basil D’Olivera Memorial, Sunday Times Heritage Project, Newlands Stadium, Cape Town.
2005: 20 Artists 06, digital print, Bell-Roberts Gallery.
2005: Gugulethu 7 Memorial, in collaboration with Paul Hendricks, Provincial Government &amp and City Council .
2004: Art Cool, LG electronics.
2002: Book cover, International Labour Resource & Information Group.
1995: Right to Work, mural/ large painting on board, WLP, with Paul Hendricks.

Publications (catalogues)

2022. Palimpsest, Online Exhibition Catalogue
2020: Segregation, Inequality, and Urban Development, Sara Dekhordi, Pollux, Open Access Publication.
2016: Beyond Binaries Exhibition Catalogue.
2016: Remembering 60 000 Forced Goodbyes Exhibition Catalogue, District Six Museum. 
2015: In Print/In Focus Exhibition Catalogue, ASAI.  
2011: Visual Century, Vol.4, Wits University Press & the Visual Century Project.
2010: NY Arts,Vol 15, Fall, 2010.
2010: Press Art Sammlung Catalogue, Annette and Peter Nobel Collection.
2009: Public Sculpture, Statues and Memorials ….An Ibhabhathane Project
2007: Apartheid / The South African Mirror, Exhibition Catalogue
2007: From Weapon to Ornament, John Bernt, AMAC Heritage Series
2005: Mario Pissarra, Botaki Exhibition 3, Old Mutual Asset Managers, Cape Town.
2004: Mario Pissarra, Botaki, Omam, Cape Town.
2004: 10, Everard Read. Art Cool. Upfront and Personal.
2002: Dak’ art: Biennale de l’ Art Africain Contemporain, Dakar.
2001: Spirit of the Place exhibition catalogue. 
2001: Returning the Gaze Public Arts Project exhibition catalogue. 
1997: District Six Public Sculpture Project Catalogue
1997: The McCabe Gallery Catalogue
1997: Volkskas Atelier Award Catalogue

Publications (reviews)

2005: M. Pissarra, Donovan Ward, Art South Africa Vol. 4 Issue 1, p. 83.
2004: M. Pro Sobopha, 10, Art South Africa Vol. 2 Issue 4, p. 72.

Publications (other)

2022: The Legacy of a Troubled Past, Presses Universitaires De Provence, Liverpool University Press
2020: Segregation, Inequality, and Urban Development, Sara Dekhordi, Pollux, Open Access Publication
2015: Shannen Hill, Biko's Ghost, University of Minnesota Press. 
2011: Visual Century, Vol.4, Wits University Press & the Visual Century Project,
2010: NY Arts, Vol 15, Fall, 2010
2009: Public Sculpture, Statues & Memorials... An Ibhabhathane Project
2007: From Weapon to Ornament, John Bernt, AMAC Heritage Series
2005: Art South Africa, Vol. 04 Issue 01 Spring
2004: Art South Africa, Vol. 02 Issue 04 Winter
2003: Africa e Mediterraneo, Issue 41.
2001: Returning the Gaze, NKA Journal of Contemporary Art, 13/14, pp. 56-61.

Awards/ Prizes

1993: First prize, The Art of Peace, Seef Trust Art Gallery, Cape Town.

Awards/ Grants

2002: Cape Tercentenary Foundation

Links

Mario Pissarra, Barbie Bartmann: Homecoming Queen [review](ASAI, 2005).

Brendhan Dickerson

b. Johannesburg, 1968. Lives in Switzerland.

Brendhan Dickerson’s satirical sculptures draw influence from politics and popular culture. He is particularly interested in interactive and kinetic sculpture.

Art Education

1995 Graduated with distinction, Masters in Fine Art (sculpture), University of Cape Town.
1991 Graduated with distinction, BA in Fine Art (sculpture), University of Cape Town.

Exhibitions (solo)

2007 Living conditioned, Erdmann Contemporary, Cape Town.
2004 Suspended Disbelief, Association for the Visual Arts, Cape Town.
1997 A Carnival Show, AVA, Cape Town.

Exhibitions (group)

2010 Recent and New Works, Erdmann Contemporary, Cape Town.
2005 South African Art 1840 – Now, Michael Stevenson, Cape Town.
2000 Cast, Albertyn Stables Art Gallery, Simon’s Town. A Celebration for Bringing New Hope, Bell-Roberts Fine Art Gallery, Cape Town.
1998 SA Sculpture Today, Oudtshoorn Festival.
1996 Four Young Artists, Newtown Gallery, Johannesburg.

Exhibitions (international)

2008 Myerson Fine Art, Menier Gallery, London. Paul Smith, Albermale Street, London.
2001 Fire-sculpture performance on the Rhine,Basel , during a three month residency in the IAAB International Artist Exchange Programme.
1998 Lifetimes: An exhibition of South African Art, Out of Africa Festival,Munich.
1995 International Exhibition of Art Colleges, Hiroshima.

Fire Sculpture Performances

2008 (untitled), launch of The Gordon Institute, Hiddingh Campus, University of Cape Town.
2007Succession Debate Art Seasons South Africa, Paarl. Later extended and performed in District Six, Cape Town as part of X-Cape; Cape 07 Biennial.
2005 Klein Karoo Kunstefees.From Father to Son Grahamstown Festival and Aard-Klop arts festival, Potchefstroom.
2002 With improvised trumpet and percussion, launch of the Spier Outdoor Sculpture Biennial.
2001 Diner’s Club Joubert Park Public Art Project, Johannesburg.

Other

2006-2009: Sculpture Lecturer (part time), Fine Art Department, University of Stellenbosch.
2003 Arts and Crafts Instructor at the Estuary Centre, Swords, Co Dublin, Ireland. Designed and implemented a ceramics programme for mentally handicapped adults.
2002 Guest lecturer, Wits School of Arts, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg.
1999-2000: Lecturer, Michaelis School of Fine Art, University of Cape Town.
1999 Not For Sale, a collaborative musical event at the Independent Armchair Theatre, Cape Town, featuring improvisations on wrought iron percussion sculpture. Accompanied by double bass.
1998 Contributed to Public Eye’s Heritage Day Public Sculpture Intervention Project: Caged stone lions at Rhodes Memorial, with metal scroll: From Rape to Curio.
1995 -1997: Lecturer, Michaelis School of Fine Art, UCT.
1996 Consultant and facilitator to the “Sculptures in Wood” project, Association for the Visual Arts, Cape Town.
1994 Mentor to craft development projects, Small Business Development Corporation, Cape Town.
1992 -1993 Co-ordinator, product developer and trainer, Montebello Design Centre, Cape Town.
1992 Established and ran a blacksmith’s forge, Montebello Design Centre.
[accordion title='Commissions'] 2008 The Gordon Institute.
2007 Art Seasons South Africa.
2005 Grahamstown Festival.
2002 Spier.
2001 Joubert Park Public Art Project.

Awards

1995 Merit Award, International Exhibition of Art Colleges, Hiroshima.

Collections

IDASA, South African National Gallery, Johannesburg Art Gallery, Durban Art Gallery, Oppenheimer Collection, Wooltru, SAB Miller, Webber-Wentzel Bowens, Sandton Hilton, Vodacom, Old Mutual,J.P. Morgan.

Links

Ayesha Price

Ayesha Price

b. Cape Town, 1975; d. Cape Town 2024.

Ayesha Price was an artist and art educator who worked conceptually across a wide variety of media. Ayesha used art as a device through which to mediate social issues. Her practice focused on perception and representation and was often located within collaborative community based processes.

Arts Education

2024: Master of Fine Art, University of Cape Town
2008-2015: Bachelor of Visual Arts, University of South Africa, Pretoria.
1996: Diploma in Education, Hewatt College of Education (in association with UCT).

Art Education Employment

2019-2024: Part time sculpture lecturer, UCT Michaelis School of Fine Art.
2020: Curator and Educator. UCT Irma Stern Museum.
2015-2024: Coordinator, facilitator and Art Lead: Public art projects for District Six Museum, City of Cape Town, Institute for the Healing of Memories. Art Teacher training for Western Cape Education Department.
2010-2015: Principal, Children’s Art Centre, Western Cape Education Department.
2008-2010: Senior Museum Educator, Iziko South African National Gallery.
1998-2008 Visual Arts Educator, Children’s Art Centre, Cape Town.
1997: Visual Arts Educator Grades 4-7, Battswood Art Centre.

Solo Exhibitions (South Africa)

2013: Save the Princess, Lovell Gallery, Cape Town.
2012: Archiving the Modesty of the Cape Malay Woman, Art B Gallery, Bellville, South Africa.

Group Exhibitions (South Africa)

2024: We have lost one another. Site-specific/community-specific installation. District Six, Cape Town.
2023: Kevin Atkinson: Art and Life, SMAC Gallery, Cape Town.
2023: Oddkin, Michaelis Galleries, Cape Town.
2017: Beyond Binaries, Essence Festival, Durban Art Gallery, Durban.
2016: District Six 50th Commemorative Print Exchange Exhibition, Homecoming Centre Gallery, Cape Town.
2015: Thupelo Cape Town Trust Exhibition, Provenance Auction House, Cape Town.
2012: Ingekleur: Outside the Lines, Association for Visual Arts Gallery, Cape Town.
2007: Africa South, Association for Visual Arts Gallery, Cape Town.
2006: Artscape, Cape Town (for the Cape Town Festival). 
2005: Botaki 3 & 4, Old Mutual Asset Managers, Cape Town.
2004: Gender & Visuality Exhibition, University of the Western Cape (History Department), Battswood Gallery, Cape Town.
1999: DisNag, Iziko Slave Lodge & ART 1 Gallery, Cape Town.

Group Exhibitions (International)

2016: Delville Wood Museum, Longueval, France.

Workshops/Community Projects: Local

2023: Participant, ASAI Print Access Workshop, Michaelis School of Fine Art, Cape Town.
2021: Producer and Facilitator: ‘#atthehandsofmen’ Youth program and exhibition. Institute for the Healing of Memories.
2019: Presenter and Facilitator: Staff development, Virtual reality showcase. Zeitz Moccaa.
2015-2019 : Facilitator, Curator and Producer: Ex-residents Programs, Commemorative Day workshops. District Six Museum. 
2018: Participant, ASAI Print Access Workshop, Michaelis School of Fine Art, Cape Town.
2015-2019: Facilitator, Curator and Producer: Workshops and exhibitions. Institute for the Healing of Memories. 
2012-2017: Facilitator: ‘Flight of Dreams’: Public puppet parade and installations. Princess Vlei Forum.
2016: District 6 Museum Peninsula Memory Project. Public participation to produce commemorative artworks. 
2015: Facilitator: Acrylic painting workshops. Prison Care and Support Network.
2015: Thupelo Artist’s Residency, Ruth Prowse, Cape Town.
2010: Project manager: Art workshops and materials development for ‘Strengths & Convictions’ Education Project. Nobel Peace Center & Iziko Museums
2008-2010: Visual Arts Educator and Exhibition Designer for Peacejam Foundation Youth Programmes (Unesco funded project) at the District Six Museum and Iziko South African National Gallery Annexe.
2007: Facilitator: Photography workshops and exhibition (with Hassan and Hussein Essop). Goodman Gallery
2007-2008: Rivers of the World International Art Project, (worked with learners to produce artworks about the Liesbeeck River in Cape Town).
2007: Oorwinning Kanala, Photography workshop , Goodman Gallery, Cape Town
2007: Photographic workshop for District 6 youth with artists Hussein and Hassan Essop for the Goodman Gallery Cape at the Lydia Williams Centre.
2002: Isivivane solwazi, Robben Island Museum, South Africa & Devon County, United Kingdom.
2002: Visual Arts Educator, Isivivane Solwazi Art and Culture programme, Robben Island Museum Spring School.
1999: Mural painting facilitator, Words and Vision, Molo Songololo Productions.

Workshops/Community Projects: International

2015: Facilitator and Artist in residence. ‘Art across Oceans’ exchange program (SA) (USA). Kohl Children‟s Museum & Play Africa.
2011: Workshop participant and presenter. ‘Mural Painting’ with MAP(SA) (USA). Philadelphia University of the Arts.
2008: Visual Arts Educator and Exhibition Coordinator for Peripheral Vision, a cultural youth exchange programme between District Six Museum and Swedish Arts and Culture Centres: Lava, Zenit, BotkyrkaKunstall.
2008: Facilitator and Artist in residence. ‘Rivers of the World’ workshops and exhibition (SA) (GB). British Council.
2001: Facilitator: Cardboard sculpture Robben Island Museum ‘Isivivane solwazi’ Resident Youth Program. Western Cape (SA) & Devon County (UK) arts exchange.

Collections

Private, South Africa
Delville Wood Museum, Longueval, France

Commissions

2021: Olapse Rooi, mixed media work. The National Museum of South Africa.
2019: Lead Artist at Du Noon Library: Painted, interior murals. Commissioned by Western Cape Government
2018: Lead Artist and Facilitator at Pelican Park Community Day Centre: Ceramics, painted, printed and spray-painted murals. Large scale photography, cement and acrylic sculpture. Western Cape Government
2017: Lead Artist and Facilitator: Peninsula Hospital Memory Project: Painted, printed and spray-painted murals. Relief sculpture: Steel & Nutech. Artefact display.Commissioned by District Six Museum
2017: Peninsula Maternity Hospital Memory Project, Documentary film: Hospital in District Six Commissioned by Western Cape Government.
2017: Gathering Strands. Documentary film: Lionel Davis. Commissioned by District 6 Museum
2016: Forget to remember, remember to forget. Video installation at the Delville Wood South African National Memorial. France. Commissioned by DAC
2014: Injustice, sculpture commissioned by V&A Minstrels for Cape Minstrel Carnival.
2005: Ti Koeli’s heritage, painting commissioned by The Department of Economic Development and Tourism, Art in Business exhibition at ArtsCape.
2000: Shine Where You Are: Lulama’s Blanket, Book illustrations commissioned by Institute for Democratic Alternatives in South Africa (IDASA).
1999: South African National Zakkaah fund. 

Awards

2013: The Excellence Certificate for top UNISA 4th year Visual Art student in SA

Other

2008-2024: Member, ASAI. Founding member; served on board of directors (2014-2021), including as chairperson; represented ASAI at African Art Book Fair, Paris (2018).
2016: Co-curator, Gathering Strands [Lionel Davis retrospective], South African National Gallery, Cape Town.2006: Visual Art Adjudicator, Fairest Cape Association.
2005-2006: Contributor (text and photographs), Iziko EPP Publication Picasso and Africa.
2004: Reviewing & consulting arts & culture handbook for learners & Educators, Oxford University Press.
2003: Visual Art Adjudicator, Lovelife. Textile Workshop, MAPPP-SETA.
1997-2003: As member of the Arts Junction (youth arts productions) planned art workshops, exhibitions, production of posters, pamphlets, set & costume design
2000: Book illustrations for IDASA (Project Literacy). Book titles: Shine Where You Are; Lulama's Blanket.
1999: Member of the Arts Forum, based at Battswood Art Centre, Grassy Park, Cape Town.

Bennett, B. 2021. Chapter four. Memory is the Weapon. ‘Memory, heritage and the spaces between: a District Six Museum biography’ , PhD thesis (197-200), University of Pretoria
Dehkordi, S. 2020. Chapter five. Intervention through art – Performing is making visible. In: Sara Dehkordi (Eds.), Segregation, Inequality, and Urban Development (226-231). 
Greer Valley. 2019. An Engaged Practice: a conversation with Ayesha Price. Online: Africa South Art Initiative
Price A. 2017. Points of contact: Lionel Davis and mixed media in Pissarra, M. (ed.) Awakenings: The Art of Lionel Davis. Cape Town: Africa South Art Initiative, pp.173-178.
Pissarra, M. 2016. Beyond Binaries (44-45). Durban: KZNSA.
Price A. 2013. ‘Save the Princess’. Exhibition catalogue
Price A. 2012. Archiving the Modesty of the Cape Malay Woman. Exhibition catalogue
Pitt, B 2012. A mesmerising installation.
Pissarra, M. 2005. Botaki Exhibition 3: Conversations with Donovan Ward. Cape Town: Old Mutual Asset Managers.