Published 03 July 2023 in News
NWU Humanities
'Stairways & Ruins' Group Exhibition Curated by Andrew Lamprecht
North-West University (NWU) Gallery
Potchefstroom campus. North-West Province, South Africa.
17 July – 17 August 2023
Vernissage: Monday 17 July at 13:00 (SAST)
A collaboration between the research niche ViNCO (Visual Narratives and Creative Outputs) at the North-West University, the NWU Art Gallery and IZIKO Museums of South Africa.
Participating Artists Include: Armand Aucamp, Sandi Basi, Lindi Cameron, Louisemarié Combrink, Annemi Conradie-Chetty, Marna de Wet, Neo Diseko, Candice Edwards, Héniel Fourie, Nicola Grobler, Franci Greyling, Danelle Heenop, Marina Herbst, Paula Kruger, Jean Lampen, Ricardo Liut, Colette Lotz, Kaylin Moonsamy, Lesego Motsiri, Pieter Odendaal, Juan Steyn, Kiveshan Thumbiran, Joe Turpin, Jan van der Merwe, Corné Venter and Zinhle Zulu.
"I am building a stairway to the stars. I have the authority to take the whole of humanity with me. That is why I write"
- Bessie Head.
"There is always a return to the ruins, only to the womb we cannot return"
- Sol Plaatje.
Stairways speak to the power and purpose of writing and storytelling: to build and dream, create new pathways that transport others to new places or states of mind. Ruins, in turn, suggest a return to and an examination of the ‘ruins’, the wreckage, the ashes of the past, the places we come from, the things or people we have lost. By converging metaphors associated with stairways and ruins as theme for a group exhibition (2023) and themed journal issue (2024), ViNCO aims to create platforms for artistic production and discourse on South African and African visual narratives and the histories and future visions that shape them.
About the Curator
Andrew Lamprecht is curator of historical paintings and sculpture at the Iziko South African National Gallery.
Annemi Conradie-Chetty l 'Wake' (left) & 'Wave' (right) l 2023 l Mixed media textile installation l Various dimensions
Annemi Conradie Chetty l 'Wave' (detail) l 2023 l Mixed media textile installation l Various dimensions
Annemi Conradie-Chetty l 'Wake' (detail) l 2023 l Mixed media textile installation l Various dimensions
Artist’s Statement:
With the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic and announcement of a state of disaster in March 2020, it became mandatory for all South Africans to wear masks in public. Discarded, used masks soon littered the streets and fields in and around my local town. The two works, 'Wave and Wake (super spreader)', mark one person’s attempt to make sense of the impact of the pandemic by working with its debris: discarded, used medical masks. Each mask carries traces and stories: smudges of the make-up worn by the mask’s wearer, grime from the street, sprigs of grass from the field where it fell or blew. Since mid-2020, I have been collecting masks that I found when walking around town, and - adding my own used masks - started sewing these together using blanket stitch. While I sanitised the masks before sewing them, they still dirtied my hands. The twine that I used for sewing – also found on the streets – did the same. The work 'Wake (super spreader)' followed in 2021, and was inspired by the first in-person weddings, funerals and graduation celebrations that were allowed following hard lockdown. Although we were excited to see friends, and relieved that we could once more celebrate and mourn together, fear of infection was never absent from these events and in some instances, the events lead to further illness and death. The black masks are decorated with shiny confetti, balloons and ribbons that were collected on the university campus following graduation ceremonies.
The time-consuming stitching of the masks into quilt-like textiles forced me to literally get my hands dirty as I tried to make sense of the threat and the psychological consequences of COVID, the isolation, and the social and economic impact of lockdown. While the sections of stitched masks might resemble quilts, instead of suggesting comfort, they engender revulsion as the soiled patches evoke the highly infectious virus. Although COVID regulations have been scrapped in South Africa and masks are no longer worn, many have not recovered from the devastation wrought by the pandemic. The works invite viewers to pause and reflect on their experiences of this harrowing period, and the stories that might be buried in these masks.
Danelle Heenop l 'Abandoned' l 2023 l Mixed media l Various dimensions
Danelle Heenop l 'Masks' l 2023 l Mixed media l Various dimensions
Danelle Heenop & Juan Steyn l 'The Confrontation' l 2023 l Mixed media l Various dimensions
Artist Statement:
'The Nest - An installation series'
In nature the nest is built, torn to pieces, rebuilt, abandoned, a collective point of precious keepsakes or a stronghold on the point of collapse. The bird plays architect in a state of flux as it constructs a safe haven.
Through a laborious act of building five thematic nest clusters, we reflect on the nature of human identity using the nest as a metaphor for the phases of plunder, reconstruction, reevaluation, and adaptations of our identity in an effort to find a sense of belonging and security. The installations depict four main categories of belonging identified by Hiltunen et. al. (2020: 11) that run parallel with factors influencing identity categorised as: (a) positive belonging, (b) searching for belonging, (c) struggling to belong and (d) skepticism towards belonging.
The last of the series confronts the viewer creating an immersive experience. These factors link with issues relating to family and core relationships, social media as a mask towards belonging, migration and immigrants and global citizenship.
Mixed media is used throughout the series and includes both natural- and man made fibers. Sound installations embedded in the nests promote a thematic experience creating an opportunity towards reflection.
Reference list:
Hiltunen, K., Sääskilahti, N., Vallius, A., Pöyhönen, S., Jäntti, S., Saresma, T. 2020. Anchoring Belonging Through Material Practices in Participatory Arts-Based Research. Forum Qualitative Sozialforschung / Forum: Qualitative Social Research, 21(2): 11-22. http://dx.- doi.org/10.17169/fqs-21.2.3403.
For more information about the exhibition please navigate to the ViNCO website here