Kendell Geers
dal 18/7/2012 al 17/8/2012
Segnalato da
18/7/2012
Kendell Geers
Goodman Gallery, Johannesburg
Songs of Innocence and of Experience. Primarily comprising sculpture, his new body of work contemplates his birthplace and its history in relation to contemporary experience.
In his first solo exhibition in his home city since 2003, Kendell Geers will present Songs of Innocence and of Experience at Goodman Gallery Johannesburg. Primarily comprising sculpture, Geers’ new body of work contemplates his birthplace and its history in relation to contemporary experience.
“For too long now", says Geers, "my work has been considered ‘suspect’ by the South African audience and I have been haunted by the ‘enfant terrible’ reputation I earned myself two decades ago. I wonder when will South Africa allow me the freedom to grow up with elegance? Songs of Innocence and of Experience will be my first exhibition in Johannesburg in almost a decade. I selected the title as homage to William Blake as well as in protest against misguided misinterpretations of my working and my thinking processes. Songs of Innocence and of Experience heralds a return to the ‘Country of my Skull’, a return to my roots, a meditation upon what it means to be a white African and a Working Class Afrikaans South African. The cultural logic of my identity, the history and politics of my cultural inheritance are woven together with experience and with delightful innocence into an exhibition that places sculpture at its core.”
Geers returns to his signature use of Razormesh as an exploration of local legacy. “Razormesh and security fencing mark our suburban lives in South Africa, protecting us from hidden nameless enemies banging at our gates. We live in compounds imprisoned by our desire to be free and safe within a space etched out from the environment by razorblades and electric fences. The world patent for Razormesh remains in the hands of a South African corporation and it is our unique product, a cultural weapon exported to every single political flash point on the planet, an economic success story that cut its teeth in our dark history.
“Without irony and in the absence of violent scourge of parody and cynicism, I have created a body of work that is a meditation upon my personal cultural heritage, my roots and in reflection upon my community, a modern unspoken heritage, a cultural icon that we are blinded to. Songs of Innocence and of Experience is a mature exhibition of sculptures, an exhibition built upon the painful foundations of experience without losing my innocence.”
Moreover, in defence of fellow artist Brett Murray and in defence of the right of every artist to speak with a sharp tongue in your cheek, Kendell Geers will present a homage to “The Spear” bringing his own unique vision on the controversial subject of the penis.
Goodman Gallery
163 Jan Smuts Avenue, Parkwood, Johannesburg, 2193
Gallery Hours: Tuesday–Friday 09h30–17h30, Saturday 09h30–16h00, Closed Monday