Reflect. Reimagine. Reset.

“The place in which I'll fit will not exist until I make it.”

 

- James Baldwin 

Memories function as unstable records of the past and trying to accurately record them is a futile act. Lerato Motaung draws on recollections of spaces that he has inhibited, mentally and physically, to conjure his imagined memoryscapes. His paintings attempt to plot the unmappable aspects of the human mind by pushing beyond the possibilities of the physical world, thus bringing the viewer closer to grasping tangibly memory. While the intangible is present, Motaung situates his works in the corporeal world. He says:

“My work is situated in an unknown time and is influenced by the past and the present”.

“Artists are the eye of the world, we make futures and are the justice warriors. We look forwards and backwards. We have the ability to change things. Art reveals the truth”.

Johno Mellish’s unique photographic eye captures seeming mundane scenes with Lynch-like perspective. In his series Maelstrom, he revisits a tumultuous river in Somerset West alongside where he grew up. This project, which he started in 2014, recaptured his interest after a period of reexploring the space alongside the river. Mellish says: 

“I wanted to photograph this very personal space in a dispassionate way to reflect the direction I see the world is going with everything becoming depersonalised.”

To return to a space so heavy with memories with the intention to rework endlessly how it is perceived, demonstrates how Artists can use memory as a mechanism to chart and diverge the course of the future. 

"Studio Door are photographs of actors and models waiting to cast. These photos are of the talents bodies reflecting off the studio door."

 

- Johno Mellish

Nonzuzo Gxekwa’s photographs run the gamut human experience by oscillating between documentary and performative styles. She says:

“My practice is a mixture between street photography and the surreal. Some of the shadows and patterns create dreamlike images, and subjects can appear dressed up like they are part of a show”.

This schism underscores the multiple expressions possible of the photography medium. Her vibrant colours and compositions challenge the viewers assumptions about the African experience. Her subjects are free and expressive, demonstrating that African identity is ever-changing and not a monolithic experience. 

Pierre le Riche has spent the last few months making an assortment of trophies. The process was triggered by complicated childhood memories with achievement and award giving. These new trophies punctuate the absurdity of awards systems and the inherent psychological difficulties they present. Le Riche says:

“I convey these messages through the use of fragile materials like porcelain, by juxtaposing textures, disproportion and abstract composition”. 

Where conventional pristine trophies represent achievement, his creations are wonky and peculiar thwarted by the burden of memory. As with Mellish, this is an ongoing project with an unpredictable road ahead. Le Riche thinks, sketches, tests, makes and rethinks in an endless loop. We are reminded that art is never finite.

Artists can help unearth narratives not often at the forefront of dominant societal thought. The stoic nature of Manyatsa Monyamane’s grandparent’s wedding photographs prompted a photographic exploration that would help fill in the gaps. In the Series Pele Magareng Morago (Before, During, After) she images the moments inbetween the staged photography which hung in her childhood home. Her reimagining encapsulated joy and youthful exuberance. Her subjects do not perform for the Western gaze, but rather celebrate their existence and resilience away from prying eyes. Her practice underscores the importance of creating alternative knowledge systems to challenge accepted norms. It is through generating these systems that new avenues of thought permeate greater society. Manyatsa says: 

“While my work is inspired by the past, and made in the present, my hope is that they can create a space for reflecting on imagery in the future.”