In a Bangkok gallery filled with sinister wooden carvings of warped body parts, punctuated with black grains of rice, Terhys Persad found out about the struggles the Thai farmers. No guidebook had included this information and even the tour guides did not briefly mention the tragic commercialisation of rice farming. Instead it was in galleries and the contemporary art that Terhys feasted on that she was able to learn about the stories of the people of each foreign land she visited.
The knowledge she gained from that Bangkok gallery and many other galleries she visited while fulfilling her dream of travelling the world inspired her to create a web series, Where Art Thou, that answers the questions about a country through art.
After a year and a half of travelling, Terhys returned to her home in America and registered herself for film classes. Here she learned how to create, direct and produce a show. Next stop, South Africa to shoot the first season of the series.
However, this was not the typical Western travel show that focuses on the South African wine route or Nelson Mandela. Terhys’ goal was to “introduce outsiders to a part of a country’s culture that doesn’t feed into Western stereotypes.”
So even in the South African art scene, Terhys focused on artists that “do not get much attention in traditional art spaces”. She specifically sought out “women and gender non-conforming people, people of colour and queer people”. Even all of the crew that Terhys hired were South African people of colour and most of them were women.
The six episode season features artists that manifest the theme of that episode in their work.
Episode one is about conflict and coexistence and features internationally known contemporary artist and practicing traditional healer, Buhlebezwe Siwani.
Episode two’s theme is defiance and the artists in this episode, Rendani Nemakhavhani and Kgomotso Neto Tleane, “rebrand Black hood life with a camera and a soap opera” through cinematic photography series, The Honey.
Under the theme commitment, episode three features Molotov Cocktails the resistance mechanisms of an artist and her family’s activism that has continued for generations.
Artists Rory Emmet and Thania Petersen feature in episode four, which explores the “rediscovering identity and royal heritage after hundreds of years of erasure” under the theme pride.
Episode five’s theme is ownership and discusses the many ways that land has been and continues to be a contentious issue in South Africa.
Lastly, episode six features “F**k White People” artist, Dean Hutton and the idea of “dismantling white supremacy” under the theme bravery.
Through the interviews of artists whose work introduces specific parts of South African culture, society or history, Terhys captures authentic South African stories and “dope shit that doesn’t repeat the well worn narratives of the nation”.
Terhys is currently fundraising and developing season two of Where Art Thou, which will be in Mexico. But for now, the first episode of season one will be released later this month and every month after an episode will be released.
Stay tuned to the Where Art Thou YouTube channel and check out Where Art Thou’s Facebook page, Twitter and Instagram for behind the scenes videos, travel tip.
