06.10.2016 – 11.11.2016
Agog Gallery, Johannesburg
AGOG gallery invites you to our October exhibitions opening on 06 October, First Thursdays.
‘Kusina Amai Hakuendwe’, a multi-media solo exhibition by Ronald Muchatuta will be launched on the first floor. ‘Still’, a solo exhibition by photographer and director Guto Bussab will launch on the second floor.
‘Kusina Amai Hakuendwe’
A solo exhibition by Ronald Muchatuta (b. 1984)
‘Kusina Amai Hakuendwe’ (loosely translated from Shona as ‘Do not stray too far from your Mother’s umbilical cord’ ) is a multi-disciplinary body of work created by Harare born artist Ronald Muchatuta regarding his observations and readings of a myriad of complexities occurring due to the African diaspora.
‘Kusina Amai Hakuendwe’ comprises of painting, drawing as well as mosaic practice and highlights a multitude of deeply laden conversations as expressed by his usage of thick impasto oil paint and gestural mark making. The body of work offers an exploration on the topic of migration as expressed through the usage of animals as subjects- otherwise articulated as the ‘freely migrating’ in Muchatuta’s works.
‘ European borders are neglecting African migrants access into their regions but benefited from colonization’. The artist also expresses the notion of border control as a colonized regulation against those living within the continent by frequently incorporating imagery of fencing, barbwire and controlling limitations within the compositions. Muchatuta too expresses through portraiture his own capabilities of breaking through these political as well as metaphysical barriers.
According to Time magazine, in 2016 it has been reported that 80% of Nigerian women traveling from Libya to Italy are being trafficked into the European sex trade by organized crime leaders. The artist views human trafficking as ‘another form of migration, perpetrated by criminal activities, the same way Africans used to sell fellow Africans to slavery’. The subject of human trafficking is prevalent in Muchatuta’s works and presents itself as female representative forms in transit via softly flowing fabrics. These resonate the Chinese bag that is commonly used for migration purposes to and from the African continent.
Muchatuta questions the act of prostitution happening on European soil and views these subjects as those that have been trapped by current post-colonial influences; there is a blockade in which the subjects cannot completely migrate across.
‘IOM – International Organization for Migration has reported rapid increases in the numbers of unaccompanied young Nigerian women crossing the Mediterranean, from 1,454 in 2014 to 5,633 a year later. ‘ The first six months of 2016 show the number is likely to double again’ Di Giacomo. ( Time Magazine September; 2016 .)
‘ Kusina Amai Hakuendwe’ represents a transcendent approach to a myriad of complexities contending the artist in his observation as well as his response to the African continent- the works exist as deeply faceted heartache for those in the diaspora and narrate the experiences of an artist exploring his own identity and belonging within a complex ‘previously’ colonialized landscape.
Ronald Muchatutua is a Zimbabwean born artist currently residing in Cape Town and practices from Greatmore Studios in Woodstock. Recent exhibitions have taken place in Cape Town and London.
‘Still’
A solo exhibition by Guto Bussab
‘Still’ is a solo exhibition by Guto Bussab which comprises of carefully selected photographic narratives and video media. The São Paulo born artist primarily produces in photographic media and carefully employs symbolism and visual metaphors to apply his gaze on a society he observes as ‘adrift’.
Bussab’s works are an observation of our collective behavior and how we respond to the current environment. The artist appropriates present and past references- exemplified in his delicately lit subjects in ‘Die Nuwe Setlaar’ and ‘Meek 1 & 2’. He does this to negotiate and explore various topics such as race relations; patriarchy within our societies; religion; gender politics and cultural appropriations. Without one concurrent thought or suggestive agenda, Bussab attempts to incite interplay between various topical taboos, hoping to entice oblique narratives.
Guto Bussab currently lives and works in Cape Town and specializes in video production. Born in São Paulo, Brazil and being based in South Africa for twenty years the artist has drawn subject matter from similarities within the South-South paradigm; be they of identity, inequality, civic responsibility or gender. Bussab creates a clear sense of unease in his work – between sleep and death in public spaces or psychosexual embodiment in order to articulate the South-South as a place where society functions in extremes.
AGOG gallery
12 Lower Ross Street
Maboneng
Johannesburg
2094Monday to Sunday 11:00 – 02:00
e. agog.gallery@agog.co.za /
w. www.agog.co.za
tel:+27 76 213 0442
tel:+27 79 458 5350
