The Southern Guild February Line-Up includes the opening of Volume 4. Chaos Calamus – Interspecies Reciprocal Altruism by Porky Hefer and Pachipamwe (We Meet Again) by Wycliffe Mundopa.
Southern Guild will also be very present at the Investec Cape Town Art Fair.
PORKY HEFER: Volume 4. Chaos Calamus – Interspecies Reciprocal Altruism
Southern Guild presents Volume 4. Chaos Calamus – Interspecies Reciprocal Altruism, a solo exhibition of new seating pods by Porky Hefer from 9 February to 20 April, 2023. Woven entirely in Kooboo cane – Hefer’s original material of choice – and incorporating carved timber sculptures by artist Adam Birch for the first time, this body of work reflects on the phenomenon of mutually beneficial symbiosis between species.
A keen observer of natural phenomena, organic forms, animal behaviours, and ecosystems, Hefer’s work is steeped in his fascination with biomimicry. A patch of forest floor, an anthill, the movement of lava – in Hefer’s mind, each unravels a parallel universe that offers a metaphoric lens through which to view our relationship to each other and the world at large. His collections of sculptural seating environments are speculative interventions, a series of playful proposals that take their cue from nature’s unerring adaptability, resourcefulness and interconnection.
Although originally inspired by the complex woven nests of the sociable weaver bird, the works in Chaos Calamus look to microbiology in their development of seating typologies – in particular, to amoeba. The unicellular organisms are known for their ability to alter their shapes by extending and retracting pseudopods or arm-like projections. Amoebas defy our assumptions around solidity and shape in the way they move, morph, and grow. “An amoeba keeps breaking up and reinventing its own structure in order to move into a space to perform a task,” says Hefer, describing them as the ultimate monster from a sci-fi movie.
The works were also produced with the contribution of Hefer’s long-time collaborators, cane weavers from the Cape Town Society for the Blind, as well as welder Wellington Moyo, who crafted each metal frame.
WYCLIFFE MUNDOPA: Pachipamwe (We Meet Again)
Southern Guild, in collaboration with First Floor Gallery Harare, presents Pachipamwe (We Meet Again), a solo exhibition of figurative oil paintings by Zimbabwean artist Wycliffe Mundopa. The exhibition of large-scale canvases bear visceral witness to the complex lives of Zimbabwe’s women and children.
For more than 15 years, Mundopa has harnessed his role as an artist to give visibility and voice to the unseen and unheard. The painter’s work is a response to life as he observes and experiences it. Each of his grand compositions, saturated in their carnivalesque colour and brimming with impassioned gesture, canonises the stories of Harare’s women. Believing in the power of truth-seeing and the drama and beauty of the ordinary, Mundopa’s paintings elevate the daily ongoings of his people toward historic significance.
Lurid hues, vibrant pattern, rich allegory and animal symbolism have come to define a potent visual language for the artist. The allegorical mingles with the mundane as a vividly spotted hyena is carried to the local market, fruit-sellers sit streetside in striped stockings and circus garb, a woman’s face bears the distinct snout of a pig. (See top image) These symbols are visualisations of vernacular expressions. The viewer is initially seduced and overwhelmed by the sumptuous pageantry of the work, but a closer viewing challenges us to engage with the harsher realities that Mundopa’s world is built upon. This witnessing stands beyond literal documentation; the artist mythologises the everyday with both violence and empathy.
The exhibition marks the first collaborative project between Southern Guild and First Floor Gallery Harare, which was founded in 2009 by Kabov, an art critic and art advocate, and Marcus Gora, a cultural promoter. Against the odds, in an embattled environment with little to no arts infrastructure, First Floor has grown into an internationally respected contemporary arts space. The gallery is committed to fostering the development of local artists, promoting intercultural dialogue, and bolstering education in the broader cultural sphere.
10th annual Investec Cape Town Art Fair 17 – 19 February
Southern Guild returns to the 10th annual Investec Cape Town Art Fair (ICTAF) with a multi-disciplinary exhibition featuring leading artists from the gallery’s expanding programme. The richly crafted presentation marks a series of important developments for Southern Guild over the past year, as it has broadened its outreach to artists across the African continent, placed work in leading institutional and private collections, secured partnerships with international platforms and galleries, and established an artist residency programme.
The gallery will showcase, among other things, new works by foremost South African ceramicists Andile Dyalvane, Zizipho Poswa and Madoda Fani; intricate wall-hung sculptures by Congolese artist Patrick Bongoy and Benin’s Dominique Zinkpè; and a specially commissioned hand-painted server by Johannesburg duo, Dokter and Misses. Southern Guild will also debut a collection of assemblage sculptures by Nigerian-Canadian artist Oluseye, and large-scale works by Iranian-South African Kamyar Bineshtarigh and South African Manyaku Mashilo.
The exhibition draws its narrative power from the transcendental tracing of intimate and collective histories spanning the continent.
WHAT: Southern Guild February Line-Up
WHERE: Southern Guild, Silo 5, South Arm Road, V&A Waterfront, Cape Town 8001
WHEN: 8 February – 20 April 2023
INFO: T +27 21 461 2856 | E southernguild@theguildgroup.co.za | Visit | Instagram: southernguildgallery | Facebook: SouthernGuild
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