2022 Collective Memory Exhibition: South Africa
Published 24 January 2022 in News
Curated by Avi Sooful, Carol Kühn and Gordon Froud.
Participating artists: Bridget Modema, Teboho Lebakeng, Georgina Glass, Shenaz Mahomed, Cow Mash, Caitlin Greenberg, Pabello Majela, Mellaney Roberts, Athenkosi Kwinana, Boipelo Rethabile Cheka, Michael Vickers, Shalom Mushwana, Tlotlo Sereisho, Tshegofatso Tlatsi and Cazlynne Peffer.
The South African submission for this exhibition is supported by three universities based in the Gauteng Province, namely; University of Pretoria, Tshwane University of Technology and the University of Johannesburg.
The works from all three institutions are diverse yet the binding thread that holds this submission together is a searching for a South African identity post-apartheid. Equally important in this submission are issues on gender, religion, colonial legacies, and the impact of the pandemic on individuals and society at large. Many of the works echo notions of displacement that are expressed in the distortions, collaging or use of materials.
There is also a strong voice that visualizes the violence that women experience. These are the realities that feed an awareness of legitimizing where we are as South Africans as we contest the residue of an apartheid era and negotiate experiences of the present - Avi Sooful.