I have been wanting to write something about this show for some time now, clearly this is way overdo but lately i have had rather mixed feelings towards michaelis, i think this short quote from an "insider" describes my feelings about the show rather well...
"notable for its technical sophistication but generally lacking in risk..."
Before the Michaelis grad show i attended the architecture master students final grad show, i was highly impressed with much of the work but was also left with a sense of "6 years of studying architecture and THIS is what you have to show." Don't get me wrong I of all people understand the amount of effort and planning it takes to produce works but really I feel that everyone is becoming too lazy - myself included.
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| Rose Kotze |
The Michaelis grad show is one of the most notable art events of the year this year saw hundreds coming to view the 4th year final works. A few stood out, Rose Kotze's rich young cape town tween photographs which highlighted a refreshing view of afflulent teens of cape town rather than the expected social documentary of Africa's poorest, it created interesting tentions and familiar feelings as once upon a time I was young and ignorant and caught up in that warped reality of tennagedom and image! Cringe cringe cringe
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| George Chapman |
George Chapman' s paintings were a hit in the sales department I thought they were lovely but not my favourite of the night. Paintings which really captured me were Ian Grose a masters student at Michaelis, his works were mystifying yet included a pinch of irony, I especially enjoyed his Lindsey Lohan portrait along with his Sophie Calle feeling bed paintings, beautifully executed in oils. Dale Lawrence also a master student presented a collection of delicate lithographs inscribed with seemingly complex theatrically drafted art thinking process's, an image in particular my influences stood out for many a creative mind. It captured the idea of formulating ones concepts, i love this genre of work, which invites the viewer in by highlighting the thoughts and feelings that they never really realized anyone else thought, there is a sense of full 360 realization.
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| Ian Grose |
There was a lot of sculpture on display now that i think about it, more so than anything else I would say, with many young artists embracing installation work as a means of expression. I feel this is a visable means of visual representation but also an escape root for many artists to challenge themselves within their specified mediums.
Natasha Roux’s playfully sexy interactive works were really really great, I did not see many red dots amongst this body of work but I thought it was definitely pushing the medium of sculpture as a studied course in a greater direction – I feel these pieces would have been better curated in an outdoor space- their position in Hiddingh hall did not uplift the work- such a pity! Oh for those of you who don’t know what im talking about- Roux created a body of work referencing playground apparatus, such as swings, sprung horses, wobbling love seats and sea- saw’s, which when the public “played” on the various objects, many were unaware that they were subconsciously emulating sexual motions and interactions- a naughty lil piece which stood out for me for its risk and its sculptural elegance. Two other sculptors who had incredible skills were Adrian Alkema and Ben Winfield, Alkema sculpted with such realism it was often not to distinguish wooden sculptures from softer material objects like his exquisitely sculpted rope and glove pieces. Winfield created beautifully finished wood pieces to do with poking fun at security in South Africa.
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| Ben Winfield |
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| Smells under the stairs |
Smells are a strange thing, I forget the name of the artist but she exhibited underneath the Michaelis stairwell, her work looked at the relationship of someone caring for that for their sickly companion, a section of the broom cupboard was predominantly filled with sculptural sunlight soap objects which created a strong familiar aroma. Another work enticing ones senses was Firth Carlise’s work which firstly quite romantically invited participants to climb up a secret stairwell into a small room which amongst other fantastical and shiny objects left one feeling rather drunk why you might ask, perhaps because in the centre of the tiny space was a running fountain of red red wine, the mere presence of the rich wine essence quite literally had one feeling a little dizzy exiting the secret stairwell – what an interesting interactive sensation for the viewer.
Gosh there really are too many notable pieces to mention but a couple more I must mention are the use of installation and found material of a rather complete body of David Brits’s vaderland I felt these works explored the concept of old south Africa in a slightly sexier and hip manner this body of work felt like a complete piece all the elements sat well together and just worked.
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| Tamryn Kirby |
Tamryn Kirby’s mad works left me feeling rather surreal and I genuinely felt her exhibition interesting the book that accompanied her work was beautiful and really educated the viewer well myself- having crazy genes flowing through my blood recognized the fears of going mad which Kirby explored in works such as her transparent umbrella and frozen droplets of rain.
Io Makendal created another crazy atmosphere through her work where she explored the lengths of the imagination using found objects in rather random positioning of these oddly much pairs I really felt they explored the found art object and the artists mind quite well, it’s a bit difficult to explain these pieces but there was definitely something about them that caught me eye!
Overall a lovely show but I would like to see more work produced and more RISK! It would be lovely for some of the works to break through the barriers of the gallery and studio exhibition space Hiddingh is an interesting campus and I feel its exhibiting could be a lot more extreme and in your face and quirky.
I will not tackle the Michaelis prize winner because one, I didn’t really read into the work and two the reason I didn’t read into it was because I was quite honestly bored by what I saw, Im sure if I read into the work and grasped a greater understanding of it I might understand its Michaelis prize worth. P.s. yet ANOTHER white takes home the Michaelis prize- I seriously hope sometime soon they give the ladies a chance.
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| Io Makendal |
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| Tamryn Phillips |
The end- and the after party at stags head played some awesome beats
