Twitter: @CarolAnande Instagram: @CarolAnande Facebook: @CarolAnande
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| 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.
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| '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.
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| 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
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| Audiences at AVA gallery in CT |
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.
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| 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.
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| 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.
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| 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.
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Honoring the International week for people
with disabilities the collaborative artwork
in video at Youngblood gallery in CT last month
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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.
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| 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
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