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Embodied Cognition
Tashinga Majiri | Nyasha Marovatsanga | Lulama Wolf -
“The mind is inherently embodied. Thought is mostly unconscious. Abstract concepts are largely metaphorical.”
- George Lakoff
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The idea of a mind body duality has defined western philosophy since the Enlightenment, with profound implications. Cartesian Dualism is a powerful thought structure, shaping the way we view the world, and dividing it into opposites: mind and body, rational and irrational, right and wrong. Its rigid linearity ignoring the edges, slippage in meanings, the vague and undefined.
This mind body duality is now being questioned. The idea of the disembodied mind, disproved.
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Whichever way we look at it, our minds are embodied. We learn by doing and being. Our physicality defines our existence, and metaphors rooted in experience shape our consciousness.
Painting is sensuous: the body in dialogue with the canvas. At times rational, but largely intuitive. The physicality of the gesture, like a dance. This visual language can’t be expressed though words alone, we experience it though feeling.
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The artists in Embodied Cognition possess a unique visual language. Bypassing the linear, they use ambiguity and suggestion to create new metaphors and ways of seeing. They draw on a complex network of association – here a colour, there a familiar shape – to appeal to the subconscious, with layered and intuitive references.
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A new language embracing the slippage, the other. The mind, embodied.
As we negotiate new realities in this age of connection, with minds that can no longer navigate its immense complexity, perhaps, as Hannah Arendt said, ”One must think with the body and the soul or not think at all. ”
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“The essence of metaphor is understanding and experiencing one kind of thing in terms of another.”
- George Lakoff
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Press
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Tashinga Majiri | Emerging Painting Invitational | Interview
October 10, 2020An interview with Tashinga Majiri, regarding his 2020 Emerging Painting Invitational Finalist award nomination. Watch the full interview here . -
Daily Maverick | South African artist Lulama Wolf paints a personalised narrative of African artistry
September 7, 2021An interview with and article on the work and practice of Lulama Wolf. Read the full piece here . -
Lulama Wolf | Art X Lagos | Undulating Curves that Create Lithe Bodies in Space
November 20, 2021An article by Nkgopoleng Moloi on the work and practice of THK Gallery artist Lulama Wolf. Read the full piece here . -
Lulama Wolf | NewAfrican | Artists to watch at this year’s 1-54 Contemporary African Art Fair
October 14, 2021An article on artists to watch at the 2021 Edition of the 1-54 London Contemporary African Art Fair, featuring THK Gallery artist Lulama Wolf. Read the full piece here . -
Artnet News | 5 Artists That the Artnet Gallery Network Is Watching in January
January 8, 2021An article on 5 artists to watch in January 2021, featuring Lulama Wolf. Read the full piece here . -
Glamour South Africa | Getting to know Lulama ‘Wolf’ Mlambo
November 22, 2021An interview with Lulama Wolf. Read the full piece here . -
Art Times | Different Angles | February 2020 Edition | Nyasha Marovatsanga | Johno Mellish
January 28, 2020A Featured article by Sven Christian on the show Different Angles. The show features two solo presentations by Johno Mellish and Nyasha Marovatsanga, and is on at THK Gallery from... -
Art Times | Ashraf Jamal | April 2020 Edition | Different Angles | Nyasha Marovatsanga | Johno Mellish
March 25, 2020An article written by Ashraf Jamal, which highlights the show Different Angles. The online version of the full April 2020 edition of Art Times can be found here . Or... -
The South African | THK Gallery at 1-54 London 2020
October 9, 2020An article featuring THK Gallery's participation at 1-54 London 2020. Read the full piece here .
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