art&culture - Bubblegum Club - Page 28

Serge Alain Nitegeka’s Ode to Black

With wood, cement and light blue, burnt orange and bright yellow paint Serge Alain Nitegeka subtly pays Ode to Black at the Stevenson gallery in Johannesburg. Ode to Black speaks to the subconscious way marginalised people live, specifically asylum seekers and refugees, which is a theme that runs through his works. During his walkabout on…

Rodell Warner / Animating the everyday

Trinidad and Tobago-born artist Rodell Warner situates his work in the space between digital and physical, making use of projections and gifs to animate the everyday. Greatly intrigued by his approach to art-making, we began a conversation that opened up the history behind the work, his influences and the phenomena of what was once described…

[wo]mannequin // a multimedia exhibition and social experiment

I interviewed artist Robyn Perros about her work [wo]mannequin on show at the new experimental gallery space The Other Room in Durban. The exhibition includes two videos titled @Herr1234 and Don’t Look. In @Herr1234 we are introduced to the character Herr through the documentation of an experimental performance of the mute mannequin walking through Durban’s…

Counterspace: deconstructing and renewing space through image and narrative

The collaborative studio, Counterspace, situated in Fox street, Johannesburg CBD comprises of three architecture graduates who predominantly work on research projects aiming to push rabble-rousing thought around perceptions of the Johannesburg CBD. Amina Kaskar, Sarah de Villiers and Sumayya Vally established Counterspace in 2014. Their projects take the form of competition work, public events, urban…

Intimate encounters and treasured tales

Walking into Gallery MOMO for the opening of their new show, Exceeding Return by artist Curtis Talwst Santiago, I’m greeted by a small perspex box mounted and spot-lit on the large white wall. It is the only thing on the wall and its magnetic power is undeniable. I’m drawn to it, but it’s only when…

NTU: UBULAWU // Collaborative Transcontinental Healing Practices in East London’s Auto Italia

Mounds of earth erupt from a soft slate coloured screed floor. Soil cocoons containing rectangular white boxes pepper the project space. Informative posters hang vertically off the walls, divulging details about Ubulawu – a collection of plants traditionally used in South African spiritual practice. The exhibition explores an Afrocentric approach to decolonial healing through ancient…

ZIBAYO – capturing transient moments

I interviewed Valentino Zondi and Lilli Bagradyans who make up the creative duo ZIBAYO. Durban-born Valentino solidified his call for creative expression when he attended film school, which has contributed to his current work as a photographer and art director. Through trial and error he now finds himself in possession of a CV with work…