Archive: Issue No. 53, January 2002

16.01.02 Neena Sewsunker at the Menzi Mchunu Gallery, BAT Centre
16.01.02 Michael Paul Sibisi at the Democratic Gallery, BAT Centre
09.01.02 'Wine' - Members Exhibition at the NSA Gallery

16.01.02 'Episodes' - Handspring Puppet Company at the Tatham

'Shikha', the title of Neena Sewsunker's exhibition, is Bengali for "flame" - and this show focuses on two hot issues of Indian identity: religion and gender. In a historically patriarchal society, Indian women are redefining themselves. Becoming more and more active in challenging the established traditions, they are moving to greater independence and are often active agents of change. Operating from within the religious constructs of Hinduism, Sewsunker works with the insights of her personal journey in oil and acrylic.

Until January 31

BAT Centre, 45 Maritime Place, Small Craft Harbour
Tel: (031) 332 0451
Fax: (031) 332 2213
Email: info@batcentre.co.za
Website: www.batcentre.co.za
Hours: Mon - Fri 9am - 5pm, Sat - Sun 9am - 4.30pm

'My Visions for 2002', an exhibition of washaway paintings on paper and canvas by Michael Paul Sibisi, is having an extended run until February 5. Sibisi is a veteran artist who has been involved in the Durban art scene for a long time. Both a practising artist and teacher (he has taught art at various schools including uMzuvele High in KwaMashu for over 20 years), he joined the BAT Centre's artist-in-residence programme in April 2001. The pieces he produced during his residency broke new ground and presented Sibisi with new ways of working. Mainly utilising "washaway" - so called because the artist blocks the colours that he wants to remain in the paper with paper glue and eventually washes the glue away in order to reveal the inks or colours underneath - he works with the themes of daily life.

Believing that "personal visions are born out of meditation, seclusion, silence and just hard work", the artist has dedicated his exhibition to Menzi Mchunu, a young artist from Lamontville who disappeared in the early 1990s.

Until February 5

BAT Centre, 45 Maritime Place, Small Craft Harbour
Tel: (031) 332 0451
Fax: (031) 332 2213
Email: info@batcentre.co.za
Website: www.batcentre.co.za
Hours: Mon - Fri 9am - 5pm, Sat - Sun 9am - 4.30pm

The NSA introduces the year with a theme that implies the good life didn't end along with the festive season. Inviting its members to submit works around the theme of 'Wine', it hopes to have pulled in a variety of responses from the serious to the humorous to kickstart the year. This event attracts considerable interest every year, and is an opportunity for the public to acquaint themselves with the practice of both the professional and amateur artists of the very active membership base of the organisation. The exhibition includes works in all media and guarantees attractive artworks at affordable prices. The NSA Gallery management also use this opportunity to give exposure to the positive contribution its members make towards the arts in KwaZulu-Natal.

Opening: January 15
Closing: February 3

NSA Gallery, 166 Bulwer Road, Glenwood
Tel: (031) 202 3686
Fax: (031) 202 3744
Email: iartnsa@mweb.co.za
Website: www.nsagallery.co.za
Hours: Tues - Fri 10am - 5pm, Sat 10am - 4pm, Sun 11am - 3pm

The Handspring Puppet Company is well known both locally and internationally for masterly productions including The Chimp Project and William Kentridge's Faustus in Africa. Adrian Kohler, who produced the shows and crafted many of the puppets, curated this travelling show (which debuted in Grahamtown) of the carved wooden puppets that have animated the stage. Culled from the last 16 years and seven productions, these are masterpieces of kinetic engineering, introducing the viewer to the wacky, whimsical and wondrous world of the imagination. Well worth the visit.

Until February 3

Tatham Art Gallery, corner Longmarket St and Commercial Rd
Tel: (033) 342 1804/01
Hours: Tues - Sun 10am - 6pm