Kiff Khaya is the bright new show by Ruan Jooste at Deepest Darkest Gallery. The opening of digital artist Ruan Jooste’s debut solo show, Kiff Khaya takes place over the Heritage Day weekend on Saturday 25 September..
Jooste celebrates the quirks and idiosyncrasies that mishmash into our shared commonalities, memories and nostalgias in a riot of fun, colour and wit. At a time when so many felt divided, he boldly reminds us that there is a uniquely South African joy that binds and connects us.
“I was inspired by my country, my continent and the amazing people who call it home. The vibrant colours of our landscapes, cities and towns, and the rich cultures that make up this rainbow nation. There is energy and grit in our urban and rural landscapes, downtown to township. I started this series in a time where we as a country have gone through tremendous strain and sadness. We have lived and seen devastation day after day during this pandemic and as I struggled with my own state of mind in making sense of it all, I wanted to remind myself of the joy this country also has to offer. Adding elements of fun and fantasy resulted in imagining another version of our reality. One that reminds you to smile. Not only for myself, but to share.” Ruan Jooste
WHAT: Ruan Jooste – Kiff Khaya
WHERE: Deepest Darkest, 20 Dixon Street, De Waterkant, Cape Town 8001
WHEN: Opens Saturday, 25 September11:00am – 5:00pm
INFO: T +27 79 1384 203 | info@deepestdarkestat.com |
Ruan Jooste – Kiff Khaya – Artist Statement
I started this series in a time where we as a country have gone through tremendous strain and sadness. We have lived and seen devastation day after day during this pandemic and as I struggled with my own state of mind in making sense of it all, I wanted to remind myself of the joy this country also has to offer. Adding elements of fun and fantasy resulted in imagining another version of our reality. One that reminds you to smile. Not only for myself, but to share.
I want to acknowledge the nostalgia of my childhood. Thinking of Lucky Star Pilchards always reminds me of my father and how he loved eating them on toast. Nik Naks will always remind me of high school and how we would buy them just to find the money in the packets to buy more. Chappies, Lucky Star Pilchards, Inkomazi, Iwisa Maize Meal, OK Bazaar, Black Label beer… they hold memories for many of us. What better time to reminisce on that fondness that so many of us share and remind ourselves that perhaps we are more the same, than different. Ruan Jooste, 2021
Ruan Jooste (b.1988) was born and raised in Nigel, a small town in Gauteng southeast of Johannesburg. As a young child he was always drawing, seeking creative outlets. Initially pursuing a passion in fashion design, he achieved great recognition as a young designer following his graduation, but soon turned his focus to photography, teaching himself the necessary skills that eventually saw his photographic work featured in international publications Huff Magazine and The Advocate. This previous experience in design and photography culminated in his current digital art practice over recent years.
Jooste had always edited his photographs with a pen and pad, so it was a logical transition to painting digitally. The process is essentially similar to traditional painting on a canvas, starting with drawing outlines, layers are then painted with various ‘brushes’, layered, details added.
Unique to Jooste’s approach is the playful blending of luxury fashion elements and South African brand iconography. The nostalgia these well known local brands hold for so many of us a reminder of our shared memories and associations, a connecting device. “We as South Africans so often focus on what makes us different that we forget how much we are alike. In my mind I want my subjects to form a part of a united tribe, one of courage, positivity and joy.”
There is a charm, sass and attitude in this series of fictional portraits that allude to Magic Realism, but with a local, urban grit. The subjects convey an unapologetic sense of pride, freedom and self-love. Jooste crafts a real world context around these created characters informed by the backstory imagined for each subject while creating and composing the image. With many of the images employing principles of classic portraiture, there is also an unapologetic self-assurance and playfulness that grounds the work in the present. A composition and pose at once acknowledge the Classic tradition, but similtaneously embrace the ‘selfie’ culture of today.
“I want to continue to invite you into my world where anything and everything is possible, where old meets new , where no one is bound by the shackles of societal pressure.”
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