FICTION AS FICTION (or, a 9th Johannesburg Biennale)

by | Dec 10, 2012 | News | 0 comments

Stevenson presents Fiction as Fiction (or, A Ninth Johannesburg Biennale), the third exhibition in the year-long Trade Routes Project, in which the gallery pays tribute to the 1997 Johannesburg Biennale.

The idea of a fictional biennale is a potentially rewarding one when examining the history and impact of the Johannesburg Biennale. Its second edition, organised by Okwui Enwezor in 1997, was also its last. With the exhibition’s closure, South Africa witnessed a temporary end to the presentation of international contemporary art within its borders. How would (local) art history have been altered if the Johannesburg Biennale had not closed down? What if we imagine there was a third incarnation in 1999? A fourth in 2001? A fifth, after some delay, in 2004?

What if the ninth Johannesburg Biennale were slated to take place at the end of 2012? What might the biennale be about? Which artists might be in the show? In asking these kinds of questions, one invites responses that are in essence fictional. Perhaps, then, there is no better subject for a fictional biennale than fiction itself.

Fiction as Fiction (or, A Ninth Johannesburg Biennale) brings together the work of 11 international artists who employ and interrogate fiction in their work. Together, they give a glimpse of what a ninth Johannesburg Biennale might have looked like. Which, in the absence of a real one, will have to do.

Peter Clarke – Fanfare series. The work incorporates elements from an old Arts & Crafts Map

Artists included are Yto Barrada, Yael Bartana, Dineo Seshee Bopape, Peter Clarke, Ângela Ferreira, Yang Fudong, Nicholas Hlobo, Robin Rhode, Penny Siopis, Frohawk Two Feathers, Kemang Wa Lehulere and Lynette Yiadom-Boakye.

The exhibition runs 29 November 2012 – 12 January 2013

The gallery will be open throughout the season except on public holidays. Hours are Monday to Friday, 9am to 5pm, and Saturday 10am to 1pm.

Featured image: Kemang Wa Lehulere – Exit permit 1,2 and 3 (installationview)


You might also like…