4ORTY - a performance by swany 29 October at 6:30 for 7 pm.

Artist statement:

What is the significance of the number 40?

In Western ideology it is closely linked to Christianity and its beliefs. In Christian scriptures Christ is driven into the desert wilderness by the Holy Spirit where he is tempted three times by the Devil while he fasts for the period of 40 days and 40 nights. The number appears numerous times in both the Old and New Testaments and has come to symbolize a period of testing, trial or probation. In addition, forty years is considered to be a generation. For the men of my generation forty days was the ritually celebrated day of the commencement of our final 40 days as conscripts in the South African Defence Force.

These various readings of the number 40 inform this performance piece. I am at present busy with my Masters in Visual Arts for which I am researching white South African masculinities, specifically those of my generation. This performance is a practical realization of some of that research. In 40RTY I will interrogate masculinity and our perceptions of it utilising a performance within an installation and within a gallery space. To prepare myself I will fast for 40 days and 40 nights prior to the performance. The work will be documented by both photographer and videographer and viewers are welcome to do the same.

4ORTY – masculinity as a performance.

"Pulp Fiction" a group show 12 - 31 October 2015

"Pulp Fiction"

The genre of pulp fiction was most popular in the first half of the 20^th century and still going strong. Cover art played a major role in the marketing of pulp magazines.

image by swany

For the first half of the 20th century, pulp fiction was one of the world’s most popular forms of entertainment. The typical pulp magazine consisted of a slick, glossy, vibrantly coloured cover and within, pages of fiction and advertising printed on poor quality “pulp” paper. Crime, romance, westerns, horror and fantasy were all staples for the pulps. Illustrators, painters and artists created original works to adorn the covers and attract the readers. They were usually sensational and lurid depictions of the short stories and articles inside.

In South Africa we had our own version of pulp fiction, the photo magazine story. They were extremely popular in South Africa in the 60s, 70s and 80s. Various titles such as Tessa, Grensvegter and
Kid Colt were produced by Republican Press.

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The participating artists are: swany, Corne Eksteen, Andrew Verster, Angie Arbothnot,

Shauna Southam, Jane Alexander, Mandy Kok, Sam Boock, Michael Croeser, Karen Bradtke,

Marianne Meijer, Sandra Hogg, Mikhail Peppas, and Sanabelle Ebrahim

The artists pay homage to, or critique this art form or the Tarantino movie, Pulp Fiction. 

 

This exhibition closes on Saturday, 31 October at 2p.m.

Pulp Fiction prizes

First Prize  R1,000.00   Corne Eksteen

Second Prize  R500   Michael Croeser

Merit Prize  R250  swany

Merit Prize  R250  Karen Bradtke

“Prick! Subverting the stitch” by swany Walkabout CANCELLED

“Free yourself of any traditional concept of what embroidery should be …”

Mariska Karasz, Adventure in Stitches, 1949

In eighteenth-century literature the figure of the woman embroidering not only represented the pinnacle of good-breeding and virtue but also one of sexual provocation. This is because, focused on her stitching, she was exposed to the male gaze. The artist, swany, challenges the traditional decorative connotations of embroidery deliberately going against the assumed decorativeness of needle and thread. With his work, because it often deals with gender issues, he uses embroidery and stitching to deconstruct certain societal perceptions: 1) that it is a craft associated with the feminine (specifically the female sex) and not considered an art form but a craft, 2) the manner in which he creates it which is associated with the masculine (in a factory, on production lines) as well as the non-creative, reproduction of banal images.

In Prick! he presents his recent explorations with embroidery and gender, and which reflect his continued struggle against societal constraints and prejudices.

The artist has an honours degree in visual arts from UNISA and is currently studying for his masters in visual arts. He is employed as the KZN arts mentor lecturer for UNISA (part-time) as well as a designer in the clothing industry (full-time).

Anima-Animus by swany and Bernice Stott Opening on Monday, 25 May at 6/6:30p.m.

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Re-imagining gender stereotypes: 

Anima-Animus

by swany and Bernice Stott

25 May – 13 June  2915

Durban artists swany and Bernice Stott re-imagine the Jungian feminine and masculine archetypes in a joint exhibition, Anima-Animus, which opens at the artSPACE durban on 25 May and runs until 13 June. 

Archetypes are definite motifs that can be found everywhere in the myths and fairy tales of world literature. “They impress, influence and fascinate us,”  considers Stott. CG Jung also describes the archetypes as “unconscious, pre-existed form that seems to be part of the inherited structure of the psyche,”  

Inspired by the art of Dorothy Iannone the artists explore gender and soul and give form to archaic ideas derived from the collective “fantasies, dreams, deliria and delusions” (ref Jung) 

Bernice Stott’s art-making reflects her intrigue with the female body in contemporary South Africa. She has worked across disciplines in the media of painting, photography, sculpture, installation and performance art. Her associated activities have included curatorship of exhibitions and community art projects. Nationally she has exhibited in several centres and her most recent exhibition was Liquid Light at artSPACE durban (2014). She has a Masters Degree in Fine Arts and an Honours Degree in Drama and has taught in both the Fine Arts and the Drama Departments of Durban University of Technology. From 1988-2013 she was employed as a visiting lecturer and examiner in the department of Drama and Performance Studies at the University of KwaZulu-Natal.

swany is a Durban-based artist who, while always retaining the characteristics of performance art in his pieces, works across disciplines. With his work, because it often deals with gender issues, he uses embroidery and stitching to deconstruct certain societal perceptions.  He has exhibited at the KZNSA Gallery, artSPACE durban, the Collective and the Durban Art Gallery. He most recently exhibited in the group exhibition, G1K1 (2014), at artSPACE durban, and the artSPACE durban and Natal Arts Trust sponsored group exhibition, looking FOR ward: our lives in 2034 (2014), at the Durban Art Gallery. The artist has an honours degree in visual arts from UNISA and is currently studying for his masters in visual arts. He is employed as the KZN arts mentor lecturer for UNISA (part-time) as well as a designer in the clothing industry (full-time).

Text by Illa Thompson of Publicity Matters 

Photo Credits for Bernice Stott: Andrew Griffin Photographer info@andrewgriffinsa.com

 

"Threaded Drawings" a group show Opening 25 May at 6/6:30p.m.

This is a group exhibition by artists who have produced works that are embroidered, machine-stitched, hand-stitched, whatever but based on drawings by their ‘favourite’ artist, or even just of one of their drawings that they love. Other media may be incorporated into the works just as long as the main focus is using thread.

Each work is accompanied by a statement with an image of the inspirational source.

The participating artists are:

Anthea Martin, Heather Pattenden, Jetteke de Vries, Jenny Retief, Joan Martin,

Julie Mayo, Lara Mellon, Leonie Malherbe, Louise Jennings, Pamela Benporath, Siobhan O’Reagain, swany and Karen Bradtke.

"G1K1" a group show by swany, Karen Pretorius and Steyn Pretorius Walkabout on Saturday, 1 November at 11a.m.

Walkabout by swany on Saturday, 1 November at 11a.m.
In the Main Gallery

"G1K1" a group show by swany, Karen Pretorius and Steyn Pretorius 

G1K1: In the South African Defence Force the "G" indicated whether a soldier was healthy and could participate in physical activity. The "K" showed where a soldier could be deployed as well as the level of medical care they should have access to. "G1" indicated the soldier was healthy and could participate in any and all physical activity. "K1" meant the soldier could be deployed anywhere and anytime without a medical facility in the vicinity.

G1K1: a group exhibition by artists/soldiers/nurses conceptualising works reflecting their personal experiences 

within the South African Defence Force during the apartheid era.

"looking FORward: our lives in 2034" at the Durban Art Gallery 5 August - September 14

Natal Arts Trust

DAG invite

Thami Jali satellite dish.  To see more works click on the tab: Artworks Available.

Gallery 4 at the Durban Art Gallery

“Visualizing the Creative Process – mappings of the academic journey of an art student” by swany Opening 5 May

 Walkabout by the artist on Saturday, 24 May at 11a.m. 
at artSPACE durban
It is free and all are welcome!!

 

In the exhibition, swany, who has recently completed a visual arts degree, presents a record of this four-year journey as student artist. Through the presentation of his academic record, the artist provides a visual mapping of a journey undertaken as well a study of the creative process itself. Swany is a Durban-based artist who, while always retaining the characteristics of performance art in his pieces, works across disciplines. He has exhibited at the KZNSA Gallery, artSPACE durban and the COLLECTIVE. He most recently exhibited his performance and installation piece, Proof of Life (2013), at artSPACE durban, and took part in a group exhibition, More Than Words (2013), at the COLLECTIVE.

3rd and 4th Level UNISA Visual Arts Students’ Exhibition 19 - 30 November 2013

Dr. Nombeko Mpako, Chair of the Department of Art History, Visual Arts and Musicology at UNISA opened the exhibition.

3^rd and 4^th Level UNISA Visual Arts Students’ Exhibition

 

3^rd Level:

Jenny Retief

 “an archetypal tale”

4^th Level:

Karen Pretorius
“Narratives of memory”

swany

“Proof of Life”

This Is Me (2013)

This Is What I Do (2013)

Pamela Benporath
“Quiet please. Democracy in progress.”

Andrea Walters       
“Abject of Desire”

Veronica Peano

“Secrets...”