Translation/Seduction/Displacement
August 10 - October 26, 2000
The title of the exhibition derives
from the Afrikaans word "Verplaas" defined
as both translation and displacement. The Zulu term
for translation, "Humushu," also means to
seduce, to mislead, and to interpret. The cross-cultural
and cross-linguistic operations of translation as
"seduction" and "displacement"
are shared concerns of the artists and will frame
this exhibition. It is the intention of the curators,
Lauri Firstenberg (Ph.D. candidate Harvard University)
and John Peffer (Ph.D. candidate Columbia University),
to suggest a shared set of aims and practices among
a select group of South African artists today, and
at the same time to allow their work breathing room
and the opportunity to speak to the audience outside
of South Africa on its own terms.
This exhibition will contextualize critical art practice
in South Africa today in a manner that is often overlooked
in current curatorial endeavors or is subsumed by
curators' thematics. In so doing it marks a distinct
break from recent survey museum exhibits based on
the broad and fixed category "Contemporary South
African Art." The artists represented reflect
two generations of contemporary artists working through
conceptual and photographic art strategies who have
critically influenced the contemporary art world,
both locally and globally, including Siemon Allen,
Willem Boshoff, Abrie Fourie, Senzeni Marasela, Santu
Mofokeng, Zwelethu Mthethwa, Marlaine Tosoni, and
Hentie van der Merwe. Their work will not be exhibited
under a totalizing rubric of "contemporary South
African Art," but will be organized according
to the visual and conceptual strategies defined as
Translation, Seduction, and Displacement.
This exhibition is curated by Lauri Firstenberg and
John Peffer and was organized by fer inc.
Opening Reception: Thursday, August 10, 5-7 PM
|
Senzeni Marasela
Metal Trays and Silkscreened Cloth
R.Nemaseton
Photolitho Print |