'Work in Progress' and 'Animal Farm'
Wim Botha and Daniel Naudé at STEVENSON in Cape TownWim Botha: 'Work in Progress'
Wim Botha presents two large-scale sculptural installations in his fifth exhibition at the gallery. The first installation, carved from polystyrene and incorporating clusters of fluorescent tubes, is an epic figurative group in the tradition of scenes of battle and conflict, as depicted in paintings and sculpture through the ages. Though the subject matter is violent, the brightness and lightness of the materials bring an almost otherworldly atmosphere to the installation, imbuing it with a dream-like quality. The second group, by contrast, is dark, dense and heavy, consisting of composite figurative sculptures carved from encyclopaedias and wood, in a continuing evolution of the paper busts for which Botha is known.
Daniel Naudé: 'Animal Farm'
Daniel Naudé's series of photographs focusses on the relationship between human beings and domesticated animals, and the way in which the histories of people, animals and the landscape have become entwined and indivisible over centuries. Begun during a road trip from Cape Town to Mozambique in 2008 Naudé subsequently spent extended periods in rural South Africa exploring local stories and cultural myths including the Xhosa legend of Nongqawuse. Naudé's images locate the animal centrally in both idea and format, challenging our gaze and reminding us of our uneasy dominion over them.
20 January - 26 February













