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.
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