Tag: multimedia

Cherrie Bomb // exhibiting the effects of the male on the female

This is not an attempt to fight the man.

Nor is it an attempt to latch onto social campaigns like #MenAreTrash and #MeToo.

Cherrie Bomb is a collection of lived experiences that express what it feels like to be a womxn in a patriarchal society.

Curated by Nthabiseng Lethoko for Umuzi’s First Thursdays, Cherrie Bomb aims to interrogate and shed light on the norms of patriarchy and toxic masculinity. For a female audience, the exhibition is supposed to be representative and voice the daily subjugation of the female body. For the male audience, the exhibition is meant to be the mirror that prompts self-examination. Ultimately, the exhibition aims to demystify the severe effects that male dominance has over womxn.

The pieces featured in the exhibition are all by womxn.

‘Safe Space’ by Botshelo Mondi & Motshewa Khaiyane

Botshelo Mondi and Motshew Khaiyane explored the creation of safe spaces. The threat of patriarchy is an accepted norm in every public and private environment and the female body in particular is affected as a result. Essentially, this body of work titled, Safe Space, seeks to express the problems or politics of space as well as the subtlety and pervasive nature of patriarchy. The work comes from visualising patriarchy as a physical mass that occupies and intrudes in a way that marginalises and overlooks its victims.

In Boitumelo Mazibuko’s Lobola photographs, she captures how this traditional ceremony places value on her, value that she did not consent to, which ultimately makes her a possession. Even though the beauty of the ceremony is acknowledged through its celebration of the women joining her partner’s family, the treatment of her as an asset can lead to her demise.

‘Lobola’ by Boitumelo Mazibuko

Basetsana Maluleka and Nompumelelo Mdluli interrogate the accountability that womxn are supposed to have for men’s actions and expectations in The Constant.

Tshepiso Mabula examines how the male gaze has made the female figure subservient and an unimportant item placed on the periphery through her work titled The Gaze. This work aims to shift this portrayal and show women as defiant figures that reject patriarchal standards by defiling the female figure.

‘The Gaze’ by Tshepiso Mabula

Lastly, Thakirah Allie’s Hey Sexy is a multimedia series documenting the everyday phenomena of street harassment and catcalling. Since 2016, the project has developed and infested from sharing the artist’s own experiences of it, to that of other young girls and womxn in and around the public spaces of Cape Town.

Regardless of gender, we are accustomed to the expectations and consequences of patriarchy. Toxic masculinity, a distressing by-product of the system, has daily repercussions for anything and anyone unlike it. The necessity of this exhibition is undeniable and the conversations it intends to spark will be vital to reimagining our society.

Cherrie Bomb’s first exhibition took place in Cape Town and will soon be in Johannesburg during another Umuzi’s First Thursdays.

‘The Constant’ by Basetsana Maluleka & Nompumelelo Mdluli

10 May 2018
Ouma, Africa and Embroidering the City – In Conversation with Daisie Jo Grobler

A palette of prints. Donned in military style and elegance. An army jacket paired with a sheer shade of scarlet. A cascading overlay. Feminine wisps of blonde hair, gathered in gentle twists at the top of her head. Upon first meeting Daisie, I was struck with wonderment by such an eclectic congregation of cloth and whimsy. The spirit of her playful articulation seemed to be embedded in every garment.

One can trace some of these eccentricities back to the cultural context of the rural Free State in which she grew up. The juxtaposition of ‘traditional’ Basotho garb and the tailored Chanel suits worn by expatriates had always intrigued Daisie. She fondly refers to her grandmother as Ouma – the matriarchal catalyst who sparked her love for fashion. The thread seems to run thick in her blood. Ouma was a master embroiderer and exposure to the collection of jewel-coloured cottons inspired Daisie onto the path of embellished design – utilizing sewing and knitting in her work.

“I like to bring in a part of my heritage”says Daisie. “My Ouma was a very big part of my life. Her flower gardens & embroidery still inspire me today.” She is also a fervent believer in the relationship between hard work and opportunity and quotes Laduma Ngxokolo, “Hard work opens any doors. Also, people should not focus on the success of external subjects but focus on themselves and their own work, as everyone is unique.’”

It is clear the Daisie centers her professional practice around an inter-disciplinary diligence and dedication. After completing her studies at the Elizabeth Galloway Academy of Fashion Design she joined the team of Marianne Fassler last year. “I love being part of the creative process at Leopard Frock.” Although she feels it unnecessary to limit herself to one specific engagement and mode of working within the industry. In her work, she strives to combine beauty and sophistication with a playful edge. “I believe in putting passion and love into everything.”

Daisie also uses the process of art and collage divisively to filter information, “It is a means to sort through and file and put into order….throwing out the junk mail and summarizing ideas and influences.” Her immersive practice is conscious of, “concepts changing and growing as the world around me changes. We live in an ever-changing environment and each new challenge is inspired by the time slot it is happening in.”

The Whole is Greater than the Sum of its Parts is a group exhibition with a focus on collage featuring work by Daisie and other artists. The exhibition runs from the 2nd -28th of February at the Kalashnikovv Gallery.

“I am the combined effort of everything and everyone around me.”

30 January 2017
Dion Monti- Colour Explosions

Exuberance is the best word to describe the work of multi-media artist Dion Monti. His practice in film, soundscapes, music and installations all share bright colours and warm tones. Operating out of Johannesburg, his various projects have the quality of being deceptively simple. For example, he produced a series of geometric human figures painted onto stark black backgrounds. At first it seems almost perfunctory. But the combination of the shapes and colours create an evocative mix, as if seeing some forgotten childhood cartoon character. In a similar way, his installation work creates spaces of explosive light. Full of torn fabrics and broken frames, they look like crime scenes redesigned as playpens.

A similar aesthetic is seen in his music. His main style is minimal house, which he tweaks and freaks out with all kinds of unexpected elements. Instead of focusing on the beat, his productions constantly shift and swirl, creating non-linear soundscapes to fall into. This year already he has dropped two eps. The first, Contortions, has thee tracks, including a homage to ‘Mrs. Ples’, the famous proto-human fossil discovered outside Johannesburg. The recent release The Wonderer is more conceptual. As the title suggests, it develops the deliberately naïve style that he has cultivated in his visual art. In a supporting text he describes the work as being about the ‘the one who is curious, no child but no adult either, never stops wondering, always inspiring’. Beginning with the opening ‘the kid’ we are lead on a metaphysical journey through the self. It ends on the other side with the gently rousing ‘the adult’, which climaxes with an optimistic flourish. While much contemporary electronic music is focused on darkness and anxiety, Monti is carving out a niche by looking toward the light.

7 September 2016