Wilma Cruise at Kizo Gallery
by Carol Brown
Artists often work for years in a particular manner and then something cathartic or life-changing happens marking a turning point. For Wilma Cruise this was a family tragedy, when her nephew Nicholas Cruise was killed in a politically motivated incident in the early 90s. He was working in Durban in the offices of the End Conscription Campaign when he received a letter bomb sent by members of the far right. He was killed instantly. Cruise reacted to this event by creating the first of her life-size clay figures. Bully Boys comprised three large, looming and dark figures, without arms, eyes or mouths, and is now part of the Durban Art Gallery's permanent collection.
The first thing that strikes one on entering Cruise's latest show at Kizo, 'Cocks, Asses, & (I Can't Hear)', is her use of clay to make such large sculptures. It is more commonplace in this country to encounter works of this scale made from harder materials such as wood, bronze or stone. In J.M. Coetzee's novel Age of Iron, one of the characters, who is dying in the early 80s in South Africa, writes in a letter: 'The age of iron. After which comes the age of bronze. How long, how long before the softer ages in their cycle, the age of clay, the age of earth'.
The anomaly in this quote is that the sequence is reversed: historically the bronze age preceded the iron age. Yet Coetzee used this to describe South Africa in the 80s, a harsh reality with its State of Emergency, township violence and political strife leading to events such as Nicholas Cruise's death. It is significant then that Cruise chose, probably unconsciously, to portray this era with a material such as clay which is associated with creativity, the earth and sometimes even domesticity. It was undoubtedly a breakthrough for her and she found her niche.
The works on this show, created some 15 years later, continue to explore this medium. Cruise's figures of Adam and Eve before the fall suggest stories where the first beings were said to have been fashioned from clay from the earth. However, Adam and Eve in this sculpture are not alone - Cruise has also included the serpent. The symbolism of the serpent is a layered one, referencing human fallibility and the quest for knowledge which can be carnal or something outside of our own bodies. And this leads to another element of her work, one on which Coetzee and many other South African artists also focus: the interrelationship between humans and animals. The inclusion of the snake is part of the story of the beginning of humanity. We have always lived alongside other creatures, and without the serpent in the garden of Eden, the biblical version of how life developed would have been different.
One does not have to look very far to see this interrelationship today. Many South Africans rely heavily on dogs, and here particularly the relationship is complex, as companionship, protection, aggression and power are all involved. Of course, the dog being a domesticated animal, relies just as heavily on us for its life. Dogs were seen as a source of threat and power in the 80s also and many artworks used them to symbolize this. David Brown's His Dog, for example, features a large, muzzled, fallen animal with steel cutting through its carved wooden body.
The animal theme continues through the exhibition in Cruise's drawings as well as sculptures where she shows human and animal connected in various ways. The exhibition's title sets a number of associations into play. At first 'Cocks, Asses, &' sounds sexually provocative, but in fact refers to animals which are represented in the show. The excision of ears, eyes and mouths from the human figures reinforces a lack of communication, which could relate to the animals and their lack of speech. We tend to consider our species as superior because we have the ability to speak; however, the silent figures seemingly without this power suggest a different way in which we are able to communicate with each other and with other creatures upon whom we rely so much.
The ending of the title with the ampersand suggests an absence and, in the catalogue essay by Brenda Schmahmann, Cruise explains that: 'The gap between (is) that space where the unspoken exists as a vestigial text'. 'One way or the other,' she observes, 'I use the body as palette and page on which I project the inchoate and unsaid in an attempt to understand. It is meaning, which remains tantalisingly out of reach, which I seek'. The exhibition's subtitle, further invokes this struggle.
The artist lays forth her personal struggles, her role as woman and artist in a complex society and the human condition in an honest and forthright manner. The inclusion of her daily diary/sketchbook pages creates a bond between viewer and artist, enabling us to relate to her process and thus construct a bridge between concept and product.
Opens: June 19
Closes: July 28
Kizo Art Gallery
The Gateway Theatre of Shopping, Shop G350, Palm Boulevard
Tel: (031) 566 4324
Fax: (031) 566 2494
Email: nathig@kizo.co.za
Hours: Mon-Sun 9am - 6pm
