My first brush with Cape Town

Twitter: @CarolAnande Instagram: @CarolAnande Facebook: @CarolAnande

 

Turning Point by Craig Cameron at YoungBlood gallery in CT

An arresting gaze on a background of black yet the expression isn’t threatening, what with those green eyes so akin to lush limes. That couldn’t be a real shade of any human eyes; strokes of crimson skin sharp yet awkward in their reveal of intense exploration. I am looking at a portrait by Craig Cameron.

 

Not every realist painting is all that spectacular, paintings that try to look like a photograph can be boring, in that the photograph has won that race. However there’s works like ‘Turning Point’-oil on canvas, which I describe above, that seamlessly work themselves into the category of splendid artworks. 

 

'Four brides One season' by Hiten Bawa at Youngblood gallery

As while this painting is brushing shoulders with a photograph in depicting the same subject, it in no way renounces itself as a painting. I was more impressed when I read the artist statement behind this work. That is displayed in Cape Town, at the Youngblood Gallery, in their exhibition ‘Unmute ArtsAbility Festival’ showing this month of December.

Craig Cameron discovered he was color blind when he was 19, prior to this he had been painting since his early teens. Working closely with experienced successful painters of SA, like Esias Bosch & Keith Alexander, still he was so distraught upon discovering his disability that he quit painting. 

Artwork at Youngblood gallery in CT

He then decided to follow his other passion-film making, thankfully years later he decided to pick up the paint brush again. It’s then that he painted a smaller version of ‘Turning Point’ which he still has in his apartment to date. “Turning Point’ is a reminder that being color blind shouldn’t stop me from creating art..”-Craig

Audiences at AVA gallery in CT

I was quite fortunate to be in Cape Town during this time. As it coincided with the towns relatively new excursion titled ‘first Thursday’. Here art galleries and other cultural attractions in the central and east city districts on the first Thursday of the month stay open till late. This started in late 2012 with just 6 art galleries & now has grown into one of the city's foremost cultural experiences, attracting thousands of people every month.

I was here for a short time so I managed to visit only two galleries, one being Youngblood & the other AVA. It was in AVA where the exhibition ‘art/out of the ordinary Work by Group 021’ which ran in the month of Dec'15. That I spotted another inspiring artist named Siwa Mgoboza. He displayed two artworks here which totally drew me in, them being photographs titled ‘Les Etres d’Africardia II (2015)-Inkjet photographic print on Epson hot press natural paper (R 3000). 

A limited edition of 6, the two artworks used African fabrics on two models respectively. What made the photographs elicit clear verve was in the way Siwa injected intelligence, humor with a touch of sensual following the arrangement of subject and prop.

Les Etres d'Africardis II by Siwa Mgoboza at AVA gallery 

His use of the African fabrics (mostly ‘vitenge’) to weave masks on the models faces, makes for strong connotations with our African history. That has many tribes using masks for various ceremonies & rites. The models posture show clear attitude embraced by the ‘kitenge’, ‘Les Etres d’Africardia’ becomes a contemporary African artwork that can win a big audience on the continent and abroad.

Before I popped into these galleries, I managed to grab a bite at ‘Crave’; the cafeteria impressed me with their menu & service. The latter has plenty of healthy foods as sandwiches, wraps & salads, including healthy drinks like smoothies and my personal favorite, ‘madafu’ water preserved in juice cartons. 

At Shop 116 inside the 'Pan African Market' in CT

They go so far as to post a permanent notice on their wall, letting customers know that nothing on their shelf is of yesterday. What isn’t sold for the day goes to charity. I had the bacon cheddar melt ciabatta, though they had run out of that bread. I had brown bread with it instead and it was delicious. The lettuce was crunchy, the bread soft the bacon plenty yea it was just what I needed to go gallivanting in the town.

From left 'Come to your senses' & 'Internal Horizon' by Hannah Yason

My first art shop was in an alley that led to an upstairs colloquium of stores. Under the name ‘Pan African Market’ which has been there since 1996. I wasn’t sure what new I expected to find, if anything my city boasts of afro curio shops that have all manner of goodies. It was when I stumbled on shop 116, that I found my answer.

Greeted by shop assitant Lymet Ncube, I was shown crafts from all over Africa. I bought this chocker necklace from Mali made of brass. I saw 5ft tall masks from Cameroon, brass statues that are more than a 100 years old from Benin. This tiny shop was cramped with treasures and the vibe is chilled ensuring if you have the gift of the gab, you can walk away with goods at bargained prices.

Honoring the International week for people 

with disabilities the collaborative artwork 

in video at Youngblood gallery in CT last month

Back to Youngblood there were other artists here who I marveled at like Hiten Bawa an architect who also is a fine artist. As a deaf person with bilateral cochlear implants, his works are testament that disabilities aren’t a hindrance to brilliance. 

Works at AVA gallery

Of his artworks here, the ‘Raksha Series 1’-Pilot pigment, inkpens, string & beads on Fabiano Canvas; got me with its intricate display of rich texture and precision. A delicate balance befitting an architect, he honors his roots in India despite being South African in this artwork.  “In hindi Rhaksha means protection…in this artwork series ‘rhakis’ are used to express the bondages and connections I have with my cultural identity and roots…Essentially the artwork series is a reflection of my first visit to India.”-Hiten 

Another one who struck my curiosity was Hannah Yason her artworks in this exhibition at Youngblood gallery. ‘Come to your senses’-oil & sand on canvas (R 19 950) and Internal Horizon-oil & sand on canvas (R 11960). Both have the artist using her own hands instead of other painting utensils; the paintings display rich emotion in their stance of reds. However the lack of lines, tone down the danger like emotion portrayed by red giving their x-factor. With Hannah Yason mentioning the therapy in her work “the seed of art as medicine was planted in me at the tender age of 9…”-Hannah

Well my stay in Cape Town saw me savoring art, food and promenades that were on clean tarmac streets, allowing for pedestrians and cyclists to journey in peace. It being my first visit to the city, I look forward to going back and I suggest you pay the city a visit particularly on the first Thursday of the month.

First published in 'The East African Newspaper'-  http://www.theeastafrican.co.ke/magazine/Creativity-abounds-in-Cape-Town-/-/434746/3025938/-/8t72eh/-/index.html