I have two exhibitions opening this week (my 4th and fifth of the year!!!):
1) Prick! Subverting the Stitch at the artSPACE durban Gallery from 29 June – 18 July 2015. This is a small solo consisting of 8 works.
Below: A Bunny’s Tale (2015) swany
The press release reads –
“Free yourself of any traditional concept of what embroidery should be …”
Mariska Karasz, Adventure in Stitches, 1949
Prick! Subverting the Stitch
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.
2) Response at the UNISA Art Gallery, Pretoria from 2 July – 17 July 2015. This is a group exhibition.
Above: image from artist book, swany (2014)
The press release reads –
A response is a reaction to a question, an experience, or some other type or stimulus. A response can come in many forms, including an answer to a question, an emotional reaction, or simply a reply. The Department of Art History, Visual Arts and Musicology at the University of South Africa invites you to engage with various responses to current points at issue in the form of a staff exhibition 2015. Some of the finest contemporary artworks by UNISA staff members will be exhibited. A catalogue celebrating 50 years of art collection at UNISA will be launched at the opening of the exhibition as part of the accomplishments of the department.
So half the year gone! Wow! And how hectic has it been?!!!!