In the decades after 1960, the authoritarian regimes and dictatorships that towered above most of Latin America fortified the role of women as dependent while inequality was fortified. With these happenings, various femme artists brought the female body to the foreground as a means of expressing themselves. These works were experimental and had a tendency…
The word ‘zine’ is derived from the term fanzine, referring to a publication form that first started circulating in the 1930s. During the 1970s fanzines translated into a more developed type of publishing with the then popular punk fanzines and later the upsurge of queer and feminist driven zines in the late 1980s. This was…
Sandton, often described as the richest square mile in Africa, is a concrete and glass habitat that is constantly transforming. In the last few years, it’s evolution has been increasing at a rapid rate. Yellow sand, piles of bricks, and orange cones have become the welcoming party for anyone walking or driving through the area….
Bulbous and sickly-looking forms installed at The Point of Order during the Situation exhibition in 2016 both enticed and disgusted viewers. Having encountered the work of emerging artist, Kyra Papé for a while within the Joburg art scene, I decided it was time to have a chat and try to get a deeper understanding of…
When you are in the mood to dance, there is nothing better than walking on to the dance floor and feeling the vibrations of the music coming through the speakers. Cukia Kimani and Yann Seznec found a way to enhance this experience by creating visual permanence to music. Cukia has a background and Computer Science…
The artist within Vincent Michéa emerged when he moved from Paris, France to Dakar, Senegal in 1986. Dakar, which has been called “the Paris of West Africa”, became heavily influenced by the Negritude movement after the nation obtained independence from France. Negritude was a black consciousness movement that aimed to counterbalance European colonial thinking by…
Palm trees quiver in the Caribbean diaspora. Beaches are ablaze with the warm sun as it transgresses time zones. Ripe fruit hangs languidly waiting to be picked. Precariously placed crowns of nuts and tropical flowers adorn the face of intersecting cultural identities. Reconciled and reconsidered. Artist and ‘home-grown-immigrant’, Tiffany Smith, utilizes photography to explore constructed…
The official webpage of the Big Hole “experience” in Kimberley offers the story of the diamond rush from the winner’s perspective “the visitors centre tells the multi-faceted story of diamonds, of the people that sought them, the tools they used and the wealth they generated”. The wording politely focuses on the successes of colonialists like…
Toyin Ojih Odutola explores the sociopolitical constructs of skin colour through her multimedia drawings. This central focus comes from her personal journey of having to move from her home in Nigeria to the conservative state in the US, Alabama. “I’m doing black on black on black, trying to make it as layered as possible in…
Ever thought about how throughout history, nature has earnestly witnessed the human experience? Be it grand or minuscule, the motions of humanity have an ever-present spectator that accounts for our hegemonic ways. In her first solo exhibition on the continent, Kapwani Kiwanga delicately investigates this meeting of the organic, history and politics. Both disciplined in…
In a conversation with Ugandan photographer Darlyne Komukama, she explained her belief that the human condition is about being connected. This is a thread that she carries through in how she produces her work, from working with her friends and other artists, to ensuring that work is accessible on the internet and in other public…
“I used to say I’m not political, but I realised that everything you do is political. Walking down the street is political,” she says. “So, it is political, but it doesn’t have to be propaganda.” Although much attention was given to Egyptian street art after the revolution in 2011, the trigger for the Arab Spring,…
