calendario eventi  :: 

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27/6/2011

Three Exhibitions

Kznsa Gallery, Durban

relaas...
Rosemarie Marriott
Mezzanine

Rosemarie Marriott's solo exhibition titled relaas... (Afrikaans for a narrative story) represents a significant development in her ouevre. The sensitivity with which she intuitively manipulates her material to form her objects and childlike forms indicates her sophisticated mastery of concept and medium.

In this new body of work she engages with themes from children's stories and nursery rhymes which carry an underlying message. She attempts to capture the way a child might see and interpret that message, which does not always correspond with the story as it appears.

In relaas... Marriott ‘ plays' with a combination of human and imaginary forms to create a body of sculptures, made from found objects and natural materials. Some of the pieces are organic forms ‘trapped' in bronze. It seems it if her works attempt to capture the life or the soul as it leaves the body - almost as if it is the time before death... however long before this may have been.

A paramount force in her art making practice is the combined act of collecting material such as animal skin or parts (from taxidermists and local farms) and the visceral transformation of that material into often tender or startling new forms. Marriott's intuitive responses to the specific tactility, texture and colour of chosen material (skins, bones etc.) dictates how far the material can be manipulated and transformed. Inchoate ideas develop through working in a labour-intensive way, recognising the potency of the dead animal and realising a new sculptural incarnation from that close proximity and touch.

The redemptive quality of giving renewed life to dead or discarded objects is a primary motivation in her work.

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forever
Frances Goodman
Main

Unveiling everyday routines, obsessions and social interactions.
Frances Goodman creates atmospheric and immersive sound pieces, presented as installations, audio monologues and sound sculptures, that cross the boundaries between visual and media arts and unveils everyday routines, obsessions and social interactions. She operates within a local South African context, with a specific focus on the least tended subject of the middle class experience.

The ‘middle class condition’
On the surface my work looks at everyday obsessions and superficial behaviour (for example fanatic exercise culture, conventions of marriage and beauty), yet what I am actually exploring is the way people respond to, and the often idiosyncratic coping mechanism they develop in order to cope in our contemporary and highly materialistic society.

We see a major focus on the body and beauty in the mainstream media. The pervasive and consumerist influence of this media creates an economy of desire in which the luxury of time and monetary stability leads to obsessive self-indulgence.

I believe that these luxuries contribute to certain neuroses and obsessions, which are also fueled by our consumerist, capitalist and competitive society. Perhaps one could say that I’m looking at the ‘middle class condition’. A life dictated not by needs but by wants.

Keeping up Appearances
A term that always comes to mind when I’m making work is ‘Keeping Up Appearances’. I think there is a rupture in our contemporary reality that my work unveils.

From prescription drugs that help smooth the emotional or physical cracks in our lives, to marriage which many people believe completes them and makes them whole (regardless of how functional or happy the relationship itself is), there is a dislocation between how things appear, and what is actually going on.

These undercurrents inform my interest in creating ‘beautiful’ or seductive objects, environments and installations, which I use as a ruse, to obscure the subject matter itself, which is often dark and complicated and messy.

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Dialogue Among Civilisations
Art for Humanity
Park

“Dialogue among Civilizations” forms the basis for a new initiative by Art for Humanity. It involves collaboration between artists and poets from Africa and those countries who participated in the 2006 Soccer World Cup.

The participants were invited to create work on the theme of identity, land, object and belief.

The aim is to inspire the viewer with ‘moral ownership’ -- through engaging with the creative works, for the public to internalise the values espoused by the art and poetry. These values include creativity, freedom of expression, human rights, excellence, dignity, pride, inspiration, reflection, cultural heritage as well as respect for individual rights and independence.

The ultimate objective is to elicit and challenge the South African public’s views on xenophobia, racism, refugees and foreign visitors in and to South Africa. These views are presently couched in an endemic magnitude of racism, xenophobia and victimisation of those individuals and families seeking refugee status in South Africa or as visitors and amongst South Africans themselves.

The art and poetry resulting from the project will be exhibited in public spaces throughout South Africa in the form of billboards, banners, exhibitions and posters. A publication has been produced that documents the art and poetry together with contributions from internationally recognised human rights personalities and specialists in the field of sport, xenophobia and refugees.

Dialogue among Civilisations

Under the patronage of UNESCO - United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization.
This major event....is consistent with UNESCO’s principle objective as regards the promotion of intercultural dialogue and cultural diversity. It will no doubt contribute to emphasizing the unique role of the arts and creativity as a means of dialogue, communication and understanding.... Koichiro Matsura, Dir. General UNESCO 2008
Dialogue among Civilisations forms the basis of a new initiative by Art for Humanity. It involves collaboration between artists and poets from Africa and those countries which participated in the 2006 Soccer World Cup. The artists and poets were invited to collaborate and create work on the themes of identity, land, object and belief.
The aim of the project is to inspire the viewer with the concept of ‘moral ownership’ by their engaging with creative works which helps them to internalise the values espoused by the art and poetry. These values include creativity, freedom of expression, human rights, excellence, dignity, pride, inspiration, reflection, cultural heritage as well as respect for individual rights and independence.

The objective is to elicit responses and challenge South Africans and society in general, whose views are seemingly couched in an endemic cycle of racism, xenophobia and victimisation of those individuals and families who seek refugee status in South Africa and elsewhere. The primary objective of this project’s advocacy campaign is to challenge learners in schools, communities and participants in social justice educational campaigns, about these views and perceptions. Presently, the status quo contributes to an ever growing polarization of South Africans who are already vulnerable as a result of our divided history. This also applies to other societies throughout Africa.
Influential human rights activists, educationalists and organisations endorsed the Dialogue project, underlining global concerns and the belief in the power of art and poetry to make a positive contribution towards the future well-being of all. This publication documents the art, poetry and contributions from the participants who supported this initiative, e.g., as Jean-Yves Langenier maintains;

...Our participation to the project “dialogue among civilizations” is a common act of sharing and resistance for us all from the city of Port of the Reunion Island twinned with Durban since 2005. An act of sharing because our human condition pushes us to go and meet the other person. Sharing can not be accomplished without accepting the difference, the otherness. To share with others is to dialogue, to learn, to move from being a “member of a particular clan: to that of an engaged citizen, open to the rest of the world. An act of resistance because we have to face plot of an organized silence regarding some chapters of the history. Here in Reunion Island and elsewhere, resistance was organized and led by women, men and humanists; by artists. The plastic surgeon, Jack beng-Thi and the poet, Patrice Treuthardt are among them. They use their art as a mean of showing resistance to those who organize amnesia to atrophy the collective memory. An art of life in the land of Reunion. The contribution of the city of Port of the Reunion Island to “dialogue among civilizations” will consist of expressing that need of sharing and the capacity to resist while showing our “way of life in the land of Reunion”... LANGENIER, Jean-Yves, Mayor of Le Port (Reunion) 2009

Eighty two artists and poets representing thirty five countries and six City of Durban sister- cities contributed their art and poetry on the themes of identity, land, object and belief. Art for Humanity is greatly indebted to them for sharing not only their personal creativity and quest for excellence, but also for reflecting the hopes and concerns of the communities and social constructs they represent.
The art and poetry of the Dialogue among Civilisations exhibition will be exhibited in public spaces throughout South Africa. Billboards, banners, exhibitions and posters will invite the viewer to engage in and reflect upon the creative outcomes and to take ‘moral ownership’ of the values expressed through the art and poetry. These values include creativity, freedom of expression, excellence, dignity, pride, reflection, cultural heritage as well as respect for individual rights and independence. The creative works espouse the values of Human Rights as reflected in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. The print portfolio of creative artwork and poetry is also available to interested organisations and institutions for exhibition purposes or to acquire for inclusion in their permanent art collections.

Art for Humanity, remains reliant on the generosity of the artists and poets volunteering their time and vision to our projects. Without their support, this would not be possible. We also wish to thank our small team of student interns. Throughout the years they have proved that, even with little or no experience except a lot of youthful determination and belief, anything remains possible. Through the work of our editorial and projects committee made up of special people volunteering their time and exceptional skills, we are assured of a quality project that will become part of humanity’s heritage. In this regard the special contribution by Ms. Akiko Nakaji needs acknowledgement for her contribution to the project and for the design and layout of this publication. Our heartfelt thanks to the donors, in particular the National Arts Council of South Africa, for providing seed funding for the Dialogue project and this publication. We are also grateful for the support of the Durban University of Technology, our host organisation, and colleagues in the Department of Fine Art. Last but not least, to my family Marisa and Jan Paul, thank you.

Jan Jordaan
Director
Art for Humanity

FEATURED ARTISTS

Alex Carrascosa:
"Cross and sail, cardinal points, octagon and open circle of chairs that invites us to sit down and dialogue, to activate the agora and reinvent the Democracy. Out from the chairs all is gloom. Inside, little by little, a potential space for meeting is in sight.
The presences are faint shadows waiting in void; the words are colours beating in the air; and as far as words meet, the space stirs and lights up. Timid lights, like candles, are still little twinkles of hope waiting to be united to illuminate everything.
Because while we look the other way, the air will continue being invisible. But, if we confront our ideas together, then we’ll distinguish the changing hues of the sky, the colours of the winds that herald our origins, the shades of the air which predicts the rich mixture of ideas. "

Heinz Allemann:
"I paint pictures since my childhood. My art is like the roots of tree. A tree does not look the same in the spring as it does in the winter. In the spring the tree looks full of details and classical, in the winte rater abstract because of the snow. One does not know exactly what a flower look like when it is planted. The form and the exact color. I think it is important for an artist to think about nature and see how nature creates. Sometimes I like to go outside in nature and paint a landscape or draw. Other days I make original - hand - pulled prints or digital prints. I live in a universal art chaos surrounded by color implements. There is nothing which I have not tried out yet with all the different colors and techniques and my moods.*

Jack Beng-Thi:
" Il est question de conditions humaines…..Des hommes, femmes et enfants pris dans l’évolution rapide du monde…..Peuples, géographies et histoires se télescopent, se bousculent et se mélangent sur la planète Terre. Autant d’esclavages de déportations, de migrations et d’errances qui tissent depuis l’aube l’histoire de l’humanité entière. Réunionnais, portois et artiste engagé je suis particulièrement ému et heureux de participer et de faire entendre notre voix dans ce projet de « Dialogue parmi les Civilisations » porté par l’afh et la Ville de Durban, qui représente à mes yeux un acte de résistance majeur face au dangers permanents qui menacent nos sociétés par le biais de la xénophobie, l’intolérance, la violence et l’inhospitalité. L’Art et la Poésie sont des fers de lance de nos luttes pour une reconnaissance de nos valeurs, nos cultures, des créations de l’esprit humain afin de fonder un espace de dialogue temporel et spirituel. Les œuvres proposées seront les miroirs de nos pensées, de nos sentiments, des ponts jetés par-dessus des frontières trop longtemps fermées. Une forme, un ombre, une matière, un mot, une phrase, une parole, un geste pour raconter, montrer nos identités multiple et salutaires. Dans cette action culturelle internationale pour lutter contre l’oubli, les artistes, les poètes seront les messagers d’un espace-temps tourné irrémédiablement vers l’altérité. - Le Port, le 26 octobre 2009"

Kim Berman:
"In May 2008, South Africa erupted in a wave of xenophobic violence. This period seemed to betray many of the fundamental values of community, inclusion, participation and ubuntu, and took South Africans further away from the democratic society we imagined for ourselves when the constitution was written in the 1990’s. The ‘rainbow nation’ was intended to actively celebrate difference and inclusion. The white United Nations refugee tents that were temporarily provided for the dispossessed on the edges of the cities are a stark symbol of South Africans failure to accommodate inclusion. Genocides as a result of ethnic cleansing have provided the world with our most difficult lessons in our loss of humanity. South Africa has had a taste of this possibility through the outbreak of xenophobic violence, which has damaged the dream of a society that protects and safeguards human rights for all its inhabitants. Landscapes in my work have always provided a metaphor for our transitions as a country; even in a poisoned, burnt or smoke-filled landscape, the light on the horizon sparks the energy and hope for the cycle of change and imperative of renewal."

Colleen Corradi Brannigan:
"Refugees need to leave their land, homes and loved ones. My image shows 2 small people going in different directions but always trying to reach the same place. They are leaving their land which is swallowing their houses, their cities or villages, and looking towards a new future shown in the distance -- the city towards which they are travelling looks like an oasis in the desert... it is their only hope. In the foreground the land where they used to live is depicted as something evil, something to leave -- its movement recalls turmoil or trouble. The image is set within another frame depicting the sea which is seen as something vast and overwhelming and at the same time an icon for travellers."

Marie-Hélène Cauvin:
Her work is inspired by her native culture. As a child, the school holidays that she was spending with her family in the remote regions of Haiti will help her to discover a marvelous world but also a very hard reality. Later on, those souvenirs will inspire her creative imaginary. She explores the Universe of tales and legends of her country mixed with the beliefs voodoos, survivals of the historic past, and other sources. Her work goes beyond the concerns purely Haitian to question the real life of contemporary societies, and pose the current problems of violence, drug and their end result, the insecurity.

Jasna Corovic:
"Somewhere…
My message is simple and direct.
I give voice to the children
Caught in the middle of violence
Initiated by the adults.
It is the innocence and purity of a child
I want to awaken and encourage
In all of us."

Tembo Danca:
"n the artwork, I represent a human tongue working by foot in the world, end the artwork concept is attached to Sonia poem, Seen that for draw I had to read the poem, and represent poem in artwork.
The Tongue represent all type of language like, communication, representation, expression etc
The Foot represent the movement, energy of live."

Melvin Edwards:
"My goal to live the life of a creative visual artist is a positive way to assist the humane development of civilization which is a necessity in all societys. My focus has been on the expression of human interaction as a point of departure via the invention of abstract welded steel sculpture. Life, death, peace, war, and new technology in the historical realities of the struggle for equality and justice in much of humanity is plenty of subject matter. We must all survive by the means of positive creativity. The values of health, culture, science, education and art are vital for our survival."

Ana Fernandez:
"I am interested in the poetic research, finding and wonderment of “other” worlds. I find the keeping and tending of imaginary spaces fascinating. These spaces are playful moments of time or matter, which exist mainly in children’s play as marvelous secrets hidden from adults. We might be able to tap on them if we keep that wonderment key given to us as kids and so easily lost as we grow up. I might recreate this space in performatic play as with Miranda Texidor´s circus, or in drawing as with the Marmanjos series, in small-scale dioramas as “Quinceañera” or in writings such as Miranda Texidor´s collection of poems. These spaces of otherness are full of fantastic creatures, absurd stories and disparate times. Reality as we know it is plain boring. Other fantastic worlds exist and are possibilities of our minds and bodies. It is my intention to tend to them and play with them."

Eric Fonteneau:
"It is based on the idea of identity, object and of exchange above all. I have worked with children of Nantes to make graphic and pictorial researches as well as collages of African men and women’s faces. I then transcribed all this work on my computer, done the cut-outs and removed the silhouettes in order to clear the outlines. Thereafter, I gave the whole thing to African artists-colorists and asked them to transcribe it with their technical know-how. That is when I received these embroideries. I think these works do not really belong to me, I only designed them. They are the work of an exchange. The identity is that of friendship, of imaginative contribution. Each one of us kept his style, his technique, his processes but the object belong to the inhabitants of this world who should respect each other and participate to common activities. My idea can be pursued. I want to develop it… and towards men and women of other countries, why not!"

Theaster Gates:
"My practice covers a range of disciplines that include performance and installation, Urban Planning and Design and the traditional fine arts. This tool kit has been very helpful as I hope to move between many communities sharing both creative practices and present a platform that allows communities to understand how successful communities sustain themselves and offers new ways of opening up challenging issues by presenting them, not as acute encounters, but invitations to engage hard information creatively. Using art as a tool for social change has given me an opportunity to practice Urban Planning without having to be an institution and share spirit and love without having to convert or condemn. This most powerful tool has helped me recognize that I do not
have to choose one vocation over another. I can reveal what Neil Leach calls the 'emancipatory capacity' of potential situations."

Mark Graver:
"The traces of time etched into the environment, be it natural or urban, the surfaces making up a city, or the forms of nature.
The effects of occupation; the present and the past.The imposition of action and ideals onto nature, mapping, naming and claiming as owned a view, a landscape or a place."
“Place and image act as catalyst for remembering other things and places and images: things, events, the buried artefacts of one’s own life” Paul Auster, “The Book of Memories”. Faber and Faber, 1982.
(used with permission of the author)

Biljana Jankovic:
"Focussed on the mere surfaces that make boundaries between space areas, we replaced reality with its shell having a symbolic meaning. The image of a man introverts, and that artificial look indicates hermetic, shrunk space that surrounds it and completely excludes it from lives’ interaction, from its eagerness to exchange. A face becomes a mask which disturbingly covers alive person with a shield of stiffness. The mask now assumes a role of making contacts and simultaneously separating. It is a boundary, a protective shell which saves the inner from the possible attack of the outer. Everything is retained in the inner, while the outer is not allowed anything except symbolic inner signs. A man is very crowded from outwards and it leads to unpredictable inner creativity. It enables man’s expression through art, because art leads out of the subjective imprisonment, it brakes the boundaries, directs towards the unprotected communication, no matter if the artists project their individual subject into the contemplation or the decoration of the world. This kind of presentation system is a real carnival of differences, inversion, exceeding, but still it is self-identical; from the abstract sameness it produces material inequality."

Samson Kambalu:
"Any one for dada? references 'dadada' Malawian for keepie Upie and Dada.
The work would like champion autonomy, moral responsibility and humour, lots
of humour."

Amadou Kane Sy:
"La géographie de la relation humaine a été tissée il y a très longtemps, et cela, naturellement, et conformément au dessein initial d'un processus souhaité pour une meilleure évolution de l'humanité. Si l'on a été crée dans des nuances de couleurs de complexion différentes, et, avec des tons et des accents de vie et de communication différents, c'est pour nous enrichir mutuellement d'une manière saine et intelligente. Qu'a t-on fait des sagesses fondatrices de la mosaïque d'approches du monde si riches, si variées, si fécondantes; mais hélas autant ignorées par l'arrogance et la frénésie aliénantes et castratrices des enchères de l'érection d'un prétendu méga monde bâti sur les fondations de l'égocentrisme, de la cupidité et de la négation. Négation et ravalement de tout ce qui ne cadre pas avec le schéma de la géographie de la recherche de plus values et de parts de marché. C'est cela qui nous vaut les traces physiques, les territoires de douleur qui ont été inscrits à l'encre et au fer rouge sur le corps du monde, notre monde, dans sa réalité symbolique. Il y a aujourd'hui autant de frontières que de peurs de l’autre. Alors que la géographie du monde est tellement belle si on l'aborde sous l'angle apaisé et juste d'un réel et honnête respect des civilisations , des arts , des cultures qui la fondent tout en justifiant sa beauté ." - Kan-si 16 sept 09

Nicene Kossentini:
Born in 1976 in Sfax, Nicène Kossentini lives and works in Tunis. Graduate of the fine arts Institute of Tunis and Marc Bloch University of Strasbourg, she followed training courses in the National Studio of the Contemporary art Le Fresnoy and in School of the Image Les Gobelins in France. Her work's field is the visual arts. She focuses her experimental art work on video which is a poetic interpretation of the fugacity of time and elements. In 2006, she presents the video Return in the Museum of Tunis. Saint Jacques Street is selected for the VII African Meetings of Photography in Bamako in 2007, and presented in 2008 in the 2nd edition of the International meetings of Photography in Fès. Her video The Disappearance is presented in the Museum of Tunis and the Museum of Boulogne Billancourt in 2007 and 2008. The video Eat with your right hand is presented in The V Mediterranean biennial in Tunis, LiteSide Festival in Amsterdam and the 1st International video art festival in Damas. Myopia is presented in the XXX contemporary art biennial of Pontevedra in Spain in 2008 and in the Contemporary Art Musuem of Oslo in 2009.

Franck K. Lundangi:
" (…) It’s as is if you find yourself confronted with a poetic creative meditation, of the strongest kind. Poetry of colors, shapes, movement and rythm. Poetry of materials. Poetry of silence, of the river, of hunting, of animals. Associating myth, creation and poetry, Lundangi works the sipiritual, using visual metaphors to construct a world which links the individual experience to fragments of antique cosmogonies. He creates a dialogue between the myths of diverse cultures and philosophical ideas. (…) Lundangi suceeds in conserving his African identity without threatening the singularity of his works and their universal existance. Neither victim of cultural tradition, nor imitator of archetypal primitive African art, and even less that of the post-modern West, Lundangi’s works are a pure reflection of himslef, of the artist facing art."

Joseph Madisia:
Joseph Madisia was born in Namibia in 1954. He studied Visual Arts between 1983 and 1986 at the Academy for Tertiary Education. Between 1991 and 1993 he was appointed as the Art Workshop Coordinator at the Franco Namibian Cultural Centre in Windhoek. The centre gave young artists the opportunity to study art informally. Between 1994 to 1995 Madisia was a freelance artist and held solo and group exhibitions both locally and abroad in countries such as India, Germany, Brazil, Norway and Switzerland. He was also involved with productions in the publication field e.g. New Namibian Books, Gamsberg Macmillan and education sectors. Madisia obtained a Bachelor of Arts Degree in 1999. Since then, Madisia has had many accomplishments as an Artist, some of these include being the Founder member of the “Tulipamwe International Artist’s Workshop” (that made a great impact on the post independence art development of Namibia), and spearheading the establishment of the National Standard Setting Body for Arts and Culture. Madisia was also appointed as the acting director at John Muafangejo Arts Centre until January 2002, and he set up and developed the Katutura Community Art Centre. Madisia is currently the Director of the National Art Gallery of Namibia.

Alfred Marseille:
"In the demilitarized Zone between North Korea and South Korea stands a 
government building. Inside this building there is a blue room with a 
blue door. In front of this door a soldier stands guard. This door is, 
or probably by now, was, the only way to cross the border between the 
two countries. On Flicker there are quite a few pictures of this room, 
mostly taken by South Koreans visiting relatives in the north.
We took this pictures to produce an image that is, as the 'Checkpoint 
Charlie' of the 21th century, a worst case scenario when talking about 
the 'Dialogue among Civilizations’, distorted and ritualised by 
political, cultural and economic barriers, and, in the text, also 
extends the metaphor to personal relations and personal identity."

Fernando Meza:
"Creo que el arte ennoblece la experiencia del mundo ya que es un ejercicio de libertad; en consecuencia, la lectura de una imagen puede resignificar el sentido actual de lo humano.”
“I believe that art dignifies the experience of the world since it is an exercise of freedom; as a consequence, the reading of an image may resignify the present meaning of humanity.”

Guto Nobrega:
"After have been invited to take part in this beautiful and essential project, “Dialogue among Civilisations”, I started imagining, as I do with all my creative commitment, how to address such an important subject focused on human values. How to avoid the common place and to create an image that could be simple but strong enough in order to grab people attention and sensibility? I wanted an image comprehensive to everybody, special children, as they know the majority of important things most of us forget when we get older. I got some ideas to start but it was not before I read the poem “The measure of things” from the poet Sergio Rivero that all my ideas started getting into places. The poem is a beautiful message of hope and care for the real value of live, which is not in the things we pursue, but in our freedom and responsibility to decide. The clue to my work came at the end of the poem, when it points to an ambiguity. The yes after the no does not guarantee anything, for each decision depends on their context. No to war, yes to life means the same. Both are commitment to our humaneness. The problem is not the yes or no, but the unrestrained attachment to any of these positions, which leads us to the inhuman dimension of our desires. Life becomes mediocre when we base our power to decide on strictly logical yes and no, when we do not consult our hearts, when sensibility is not a criteria and intuition is out of consideration. When we reach such a point we become machines ourselves, it is not about deciding anymore, it is just about programming futures.
In my creative process the idea evolves in my mind. I test many possibilities in my imaginary until some of then grabs my attention. This is the point when the technique comes and the artwork gets shape. I have many years of experience doing illustrations, most of then for kids. I like colours and they are an important aspect of my work. I knew since the very beginning that I wanted an image that was strong enough to fit the project’s subject, but at the same time I wanted something fun and beautiful. I decided to treat the subject with some irony. On my imaginary I saw two dogs fighting for a piece of bone I call yesno. The link to the poem is evident. The bone yesno represents all decisions governs want to take in which the desire of pursuing the bone is bigger then the responsibility of deciding. The fighting for the bone yesno represents the fight of animals which by instinct want to feed their hunger. Human race do better than animals when we base decisions not in our instinct to survive, but in our predisposition to share and to cooperate. The dogs have world maps in their skins and wear human masks, or it would be human behaving like dogs in a fight? I don’t know, you decide."

The measure of things

a thousand colors
many places to live
at least thirty ways to make bread
all the laws against death
more than four billion people
millions of languages around communication
unimaginable products of all types for consumers
waters, oils, lands, wines, smells and tastes
with luck, one yes
after the solitary no that someone spoke to decide."

Akaya Okutsu:
"Scene: The story starts in between of conscious souls. Little rabbit walk around the darkness and find a small window with orange light. The rabbit peek through the window and find a group of people having a party.
Gentleman: Rabbit!! Attention please! Please be our guest in the club, you are now a part of our team! Hereby we celebrate our eternal freedom and friendship. [Pull the arm of rabbit and bring in to the party] Our future is bright! When you are in our community, you are the winner! Ohh wonderful happiness, joy, sunshine, love and beauty!
Teenage girl: We keep your individuality and be your partner forever, we are the family, you are the insider, and we involve to each other, understand each other, our communication is so yummy!
Housewife: Ha Ha Ha! Did you hear that joke? That was so funny! Ha Ha Ha!
Gentleman: Ah thank you for your collaboration.
Housewife: Our institution loves you, how exciting is that? How fruity is that?
Gentleman: Listen, you are such an outgoing confident likable person, we are so proud of you! You will be a big influence on us. We share the life full of colours, hee hee hee! Please be comfortable, yes, you are so sexy!

[Rabbit body expands, fill up the space and break the window, the party and the darkness are united, and a second later, all the existence disappear.]
( c u r t a i n )

Candida Pestana:
"Space and time exist objectively. Although we may feel how time in 
its inexorable passage is carrying us away, we can neither halt nor 
prolong it. We cannot recover a single moment of existence. The flow 
of time is beyond our control. One day and two seconds is a 
representation of stoping the time and try to control it in a paper.
One may easily find, in the work presented, a need to arrive at almost 
sarcastical conclusions about everyday aspects of our lives refering 
to the time as a relevant aspect of our daily route. This way, during 
my work, I try to make use of trivial situations, manipulating them 
in such a way that they become true metaphors of the reality that I 
am trying to describe. Thus I archive a cort of paradox between two 
realities, the time and the space."

Collin Sekajugo
"As it’s universally acknowledged that there are different races, cultures and traditions all over the world and these afore mentioned elements of society are what define who we are as a people. Well as these are the same things that divide us and cause ethnocentric practices in society hence resulting into conflict and war amongst us, as an artist I think that what makes us one people is the common value that we are all created with. And “The Common Line” as depicted in the art piece, is that we are all created with equal human value. I strongly believe that our ancestry or human backgrounds share a common line that we all communicate along. We are all from one human creation. And this line is what we should recognize as our common value as humans and create a dialogue that would heal any wounded human soul. The ability and freedom to express ourselves through what we create can the same path or language that we can communicate through to link who we are today to our ancestors. Whether in the past, present or future art could be used as healing tool amongst all humanity."

Marianna Stuhr:
"The Warrior" was inspired by the ancient sculptures found on The Forum Romanum in Rome, Italy. Crushed, destroyed and hurt. These classic examples of Antique cult of body and beauty - are lying on the ground, being permanently exposed to the burning Italian sun... They tell the story which we cannot forget - the story about vanity and fragility of the human body and the human fate being ravaged by difficult experiences such as war and suffering. The Strength and beauty of images of Roman Gods , Heroes and Warriors frozen in time are fascinating to me, which in regards to human fate stay for ever alive..."

Ebina Tatsuo:
"We are very happy to be able to participate in this art charity project. To all the staff who gave us this great opportunity we are extremely grateful. Our work has been created with characters from different alphabets that are used somewhere in the world. It is likely that characters that are foreign to you appear as simply patterns in black, however each and every character has meaning and a long history attached to it. It takes so many years of blood, sweat and tears to reach each character's current form, and so many different characters have disappeared through the ages. When we approached the work, we realized the characters are the hope to communicate to others, the will to connect the past to the future, and of civilization. This project is a great opportunity to enjoy and appreciate the strength of art, and for many people, a good chance to learn of other people's cultures. We hope that peaceful dialogues can be achieved among civilizations through soccer and art to name but a few, in South Africa and indeed all over the world."

Barthelemy Toguo:
"Besides being an African, I am first and foremost a human being, and as such pay heed to what is happening around me in our society. Whenever there are inequalities, if there is something wrong in North-South exchanges, when countries wage war against one another, the role of the artist, according to me, is to make it known, to raise other people’s consciousness. The vehicle can be painting, sculpture, a performance or video. The reason why I am very attentive to what people go through is that I come from a continent that at the time I speak has to fight its way through a lot of problems. My work cannot remain indifferent to the events taking place in the world. For me, every human being is an actor pacing the stage, some play a tragic part, others a comic one, others find themselves deep in distress, incertitude. Art must not be self-centered; it must celebrate life and universality, its sufferings as its pleasures, its joys and its pains. For me, art must go toward people, make them talk, make them dream."

Amira Wasfy:
"Art plays a vital role in shaping human civilisation. The image is a visual documentation of the artist’s observation of the reality of her time and space. The artist contemplates an ancient civilization’s concept of justice and examines its place as an enduring conceptual value today. Studying an ancient scroll from the Egyptian Book of the Dead, she has come across an illustration depicting the journey of the soul after death where one goes through a test or judgment before making the transition to the afterlife. In the judgment halls the Goddess Maat represents truth, law, moral, justice, and balance. Maat’s role is to judge the soul of the dead, using the feather as a measure to weigh the worth of the soul believed to be living in the human heart, when the heart is equal to the Feathered Truth then the soul will achive a safe passage to the afterlife. The work challenges the viewers to contemplate historical and current concepts of truth, justice and morality."

Clifford Zulu:
Zulu is inspired by the way things happen around me especially the country’s political challenges since 2000 and how the world and especially the people of Southern Africa perceived the Zimbabweans when they sought economic refuge but I am fascinated by the way people rate to each other racially and tribally in times of need.
He works at the National Gallery in Bulawayo’s Administration system, as an Arts Development and Outreach Officer this enabled him to see both perspectives of a practicing artist and an arts administrator. He is also one of the pioneers of the Intwasa Arts Festival ko Bulawayo. He uses his work as a medium that seeks to address the most talked-about issues in the world specifically the ones that have a threat to human life or issues that may distract the normal human race.

Image: Rosemarie Marriott

Media Contact:
Contact Emmeline Young on: Phone: 031 277 1705 gallery@kznsagallery.co.za

Opening 28 June, 6pm

Kznsa Gallery
166 Bulwer Road, Glenwood Durban

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