Archive: Issue No. 57, May 2002

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LISTINGS/KZN

DURBAN
15.05.02 Brigitte Maingard and Gail Iris Neke at the NSA
15.05.02 Marlino Kuko remembered at the BAT Centre
01.05.02 Nancy Moodley at the Democratic Gallery, BAT Centre
24.04.02 Heleen Verwey and Paul Weinberg at the NSA Gallery
17.04.02 'Untold Tales of Magic: Abelumbi' at Durban Art Gallery
17.04.02 Artists for Human Rights UDHR Print Portfolio at the BAT Centre

PIETERMARITZBURG
15.05.02 Robert Hodgins - '50 Years a Painter' at the Tatham
DURBAN

Gail Neke

Gail Neke
'Facing the Vagina' series
2000-2001
Ceramic
Dimensions variable


Brigitte Maingard and Gail Iris Neke at the NSA

Brigitte Maingard's 'Non Redeemable Expenses' is part of an intense, ongoing, informal research project by the artist into the position of children in society. Her concerns stem from her role as mother and community worker in a world where children are often regarded as "non-persons".

Steering away from the didactic, Maingard's exhibition is a minimal installation comprising nine images presented on trampolines on the floor of the gallery, a blackboard inviting visitors to engage in a game of noughts and crosses, and a separate room housing a sound installation. The exhibition will provide a meditative space for viewers to contemplate a radical rethinking of the treatment and imaging of children.

Gail Iris Neke is based in Johannesburg, and her exhibition 'Killing the (M)other' was shown at the Bell-Roberts Gallery in Cape Town last year and the Goodman Gallery in Johannesburg earlier this year (see Kathryn Smith's review). After conducting research at rape clinics and referencing contemporary psychoanalytical texts, Neke has interpreted this research in a mixed media installation. She interrogates why men rape, rather than examining the effects of rape on the survivor, thereby examining the processes through which male vulnerability is represented by and projected onto women who are objects of both desire and fear.

Neke has exhibited widely and her work is represented in numerous public collections. She will conduct a public walkabout on Wednesday May 22 at 12.30pm. All welcome.

Opening: Tuesday May 21 at 6pm
Closing: June 9

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




Marlino Kuko remembered at the BAT Centre

The BAT Centre is hosting a memorial exhibition of works by the late Marlino Kuko at the Menzi Mcunu Gallery. Kuko died early this year after a short illness. At the time of his death he was working at the BAT Centre where he had been artist-in-residence since 1997.

Born in Maputo, Mozambique, Kuko was taught woodcarving by his older brothers. He left school at an early age in order to pursue a career in carving, and worked in Swaziland and Mozambique. His work is in the permanent collection of major galleries in South Africa such as the Durban Art Gallery.

The exhibition will culminate in a memorial service after which some of the artist's works will be auctioned.

Opening: May 15 at 5.30pm

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




Nancy Moodley at the Democratic Gallery, BAT Centre

Last chance to see 'Living on the Edge of Humankind', an exhibition of drawings by Nancy Moodley. Moodley is a self-taught artist who has dedicated her art to the recording of human suffering. This body of work was made over a period of six months. Accompanied by poems and inspired by biblical readings, the works embrace slavery, discrimination, war, the holocaust, genocide, the plight of refugees, famine, disease, poverty, abuse, crime and terrorism. The artist hopes to challenge people to use their will positively in bringing about peace and joy in the world.

Closing: May 2

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


Heleen Verwey

Heleen Verwey

Paul Weinberg

Paul Weinberg
Photograph for 'Durban: Impressions of an African City'


Heleen Verwey and Paul Weinberg at the NSA Gallery

Exhibiting recent paintings at the NSA is Heleen Verwey, a Dutch artist now living in South Africa. She has a diverse background in the arts, having worked in theatre, television, animation and in music, both as an organiser and a performer. She studied at the Academie voor Beeldende Kunsten (Rotterdam) and her work falls under the umbrella of "informal art". Utilising different media on supports such as canvas, wood and stone, her art is strongly influenced by the symbols and spiritual icons of Eastern and African cultures. Verwey has exhibited widely in Europe, Holland and Africa. Her last solo exhibition was at the National Art Gallery of Namibia in October 2001.

In the Mezzanine and Park Galleries well-known photographer Paul Weinberg exhibits a selection of images for a new book Durban: Impressions of an African City. The images take the viewer into the heart of a contemporary South African city facing the unique challenges of modern Africa. Published by Porcupine Press and written by travel writer David Robbins and storyteller Gcina Mhlope, this unusual travel book will be launched at the NSA on May 10 at 6pm with a special performance by Siwela Sonke Dance Theatre.

Opening: April 30 at 6pm
Closing: May 19

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




'Untold Tales of Magic: Abelumbi' at Durban Art Gallery

Months in the preparation, 'Untold Tales of Magic: Abelumbi' is a fascinating survey of different cultural approaches to the idea of magic. The term "magic" is utilised here to embrace the unexplained, and so ranges across organised religion, local folktales, mythologies, alchemy, sorcery and enchantment. Concerned with both good and evil, the exhibition covers Western, Eastern and African subjects and features the work of 68 artists from KwaZulu-Natal.

Pieces to look out for are MV Naidoo's oil painting Kali and the Kutti-Shaitaan depicting the 1935 exorcism of an evil spirit that was eventually defeated by the combined forces of Zulu sangomas, Muslim priests and Hindu spiritualists; depictions by Zamokwake Gumede, Juluis Mfethe, George Msimang and Siphiwe Zulu of the Night Rider, the Zulu legend of a dark, undead entity who rides a baboon "familiar" facing backwards so as not to be recognised by his enemies; and Cross of Evil, a beaded sculpture by Thafa Dlamini and Ceaser Mkhize.

Curated by Jill Addelson of the Durban Art Gallery, the exhibition is seen as making a real contribution to indigenous knowledge systems. Michigan State University, in conjunction with Professor Seleti of the Campbell Collections, is funding ongoing research into the artists contributing to the show.

The exhibition will travel to main centres in KZN as well as to the Standard Bank Gallery in Johannesburg, the Pretoria Art Museum, the Oliewenhuis Art Gallery in Bloemfontein and the William Humphreys Art Gallery, Kimberley,

Opening: April 16 at 6pm

Durban Art Gallery, 2nd floor, City Hall, Smith Street
Tel: 031 311 2262
Fax: 031 311 2273
Website: www.durban.gov.za/museums/artgallery
Hours: Mon - Sat 8.30am - 4pm, Sun 11am - 4pm




Artists for Human Rights UDHR Print Portfolio at the BAT Centre

The Durban-based grouping Artists for Human Rights put together the UDHR International Print Portfolio in 1999 to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the Universal Declaration for Human Rights. The portfolio consists of 34 original prints by artists from South Africa and abroad, arranged into 50 limited edition portfolios of A2 size.

Endorsed by the Dalai Lama and various other champions of human rights, the portfolio reflects artists' understanding and interpretation of the values that are fundamental to human existence. Project leaders Jan Jordaan and Vedant Nanackhand believe the portfolio will "serve as a catalyst for further creative and critical discourse regarding the role of art and human rights, as we enter into the new millennium". The exhibition is dedicated to all victims of human rights violations and crimes against humanity.

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

PIETERMARITZBURG

Robert Hodgins

Robert Hodgins
Punk, 1999/2000
Oil on canvas
119 x 122cm


Robert Hodgins - '50 Years a Painter' at the Tatham

Robert Hodgins, one of South Africa's most renowned painters, has finally come to KZN in full force. His retrospective, organised by the Aardklop Festival last year, pays homage to his diverse production in both paint and printmaking.

Hodgins was born and trained in England. He served in the armed forces in Egypt during the second world war and has lived in South Africa since 1953. A well-respected lecturer at Wits University until 1983, he has continued to produce contemporary commentary on the South African socio-political context. See review by Hazel Friedman.

Opening: May 14
Closing: June 23

Tatham Art Gallery, corner Longmarket Street and Commercial Road
Tel: 033 342 1804/1
Hours: Tues - Sun 10am - 6pm
Email: bell@tatham.org.za

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