SIMULACRUM
The simulacrum has long been of interest to philosophers. In his Sophist, Plato speaks of two kinds of image making. The first is a faithful reproduction, attempted to copy precisely the original. The second is intentionally distorted in order to make the copy appear correct to viewers. He gives the example of Greek statuary, which was crafted larger on the top than on the bottom so that viewers on the ground would see it correctly. If they could view it in scale, they would realize it was malformed. This example from the visual arts serves as a metaphor for the philosophical arts and the tendency of some philosophers to distort truth so that it appears accurate unless viewed from the proper angle.[5] Nietzsche addresses the concept of simulacrum (but does not use the term) in the Twilight of the Idols, suggesting that most philosophers, by ignoring the reliable input of their senses and resorting to the constructs of language and reason, arrive at a distorted copy of reality.
PAUL SENYOL
Senyol is often seduced by the scratchings of a streetwalker. He likes it when kids take a piece of chalk and write on the wall, which is often the case around his home and studio in Woodstock. Senyol received no formal artistic training, but he has been studying art and the mark since his fascination with skateboarding magazines as a teenager in Cape Town. He is inspired by the Mission School Art Movement in San Francisco, the Woostercollective, Marc Gonzalez, Ed Templeton, Barry McGee, punk rock music, the way skateboarding & cycling enables him to access the city and books in the City Library. Graphics, album covers, magazine layouts and illustrations are an important influence to his aesthetic as is the work of Jean-Michel Basquiat, Andy Warhol, Cy Twombly, Henri Matisse and Joan Miró, respectively. His works celebrate the abstract moments of the image: formal qualities of line, shape and hue from the basis of his compositions that evolve through the process of painting. Senyol began exhibiting “free art” on street corners in the early 2000s and this enabled him to connect directly with the street and its unexpected audiences. He may now exhibit almost exclusively within the gallery space, but this shift remains, for him, just another space to engage the viewer in a new way.
Paul Senyol Addition Mixed media on Canvas 420 x 490 mm 2017
Paul Senyol Thomas Mixed media on Canvas 590 x 685 mm 2017
Paul Senyol Juniper Mixed media on Canvas 490 x 420 mm 2017
Paul Senyol Resurgent Mixed media on Canvas 490 x 420 mm 2017
Paul Senyol Rosaria Mixed media on Canvas 490 x 420 mm 2017
Paul Senyol Twelve Mixed media on Canvas 685 x 590 mm 2017
Paul Senyol Silverfern Mixed media on Canvas 1000 x 850 mm 2017
Paul Senyol Recital Mixed media on Canvas 1000 x 850 mm 2017
BLACK KOKI
“I want to make images that are both hard to look at, and hard to look away from.� Black Koki’s name originates from the definitive line that he has applied to paper, canvas, street and glass since 2004. His recent work reflects an interest in the warped spaces, textures and decay of an urban reality augmented by the digital world. His works imbibe the strange connect and disconnect of human relationships within space and data. Social media quips meet organic, expressive forms in the synthetic hues of his enamel on glass paintings. Oddly digital in reference, the works also speak to an intuitive and spontaneous mark making of art historical lineage, inhabiting both the monochromatic, flat or elaborately layered surface. His works on glass embody an unmistakable nostalgia for the 1990s from the perspective of a contemporary digital age. The flavour of urban subcultures persists in his forms, merged with his personal experiences of city spaces such that his works become an abstract coding of the contemporary experience.
Black Koki Day, Tonight Spray-paint on glass 470 x 440 x 35 mm Framed 2017
Black Koki Isolation Party Spray-paint on Glass 455 x 405 x 35mm Framed 2017
Black Koki Know More Spray-paint on glass 305 x 255 mm Framed 2017
Black Koki Subscriber Unavailable Spray-paint on glass 315 x 230 mm Framed 2017
Black Koki Art Unfair Spray-paint on glass 310 x 225 mm Framed 2017
Black Koki Wrong Number Spray-paint on glass 305 x 205 mm Framed 2017
Black Koki Good Hope Spray-paint on glass 440 x 320 mm Framed 2017
Black Koki Off Screen Spray-paint on glass 615 x 440 mm Framed 2017
Black Koki Sleep Walk Spray-paint on glass 380 x 340 mm Framed 2017
WESLEY VAN EEDEN
In these selected works for our group show simulacrum, I wanted to create works based on a conversation with Aaron Rose (artist) that discusses the concept of where contemporary society sits currently. Modern culture is repeating itself, selecting an interpreting the past to create something new or to celebrate the past in nostalgia. Sometimes this copy (the simulacrum) of the past is almost more real than the original and sometimes becomes something that is a contradiction of this past but is believed to be true. Instead of making a clear statement the works in this exhibition explore the narratives of each title of the work through abstraction and gives the viewer the opportunity to interpret the work as opposed to creating a clear representation of the title in graphic form.
Wesley van Eeden You are here: blueprint for escape Water-based enamel on board 1000 x 1000 mm 2017
Wesley van Eeden The morning of the first Eviction Water-based enamel on board 1000 x 1000 mm 2017
Wesley van Eeden The the new neu old old Water-based enamel on board 1000 x 1000 mm 2017
Wesley van Eeden Recreated upon the nostalgia of a future exile Water-based enamel on board 1000 x 1000 mm 2017
Wesley van Eeden According to ones courage Water-based enamel on board 400 x 400 mm 2017 Framed
Wesley van Eeden Copy and pasters of the world unite Water-based enamel on board 400 x 400 mm 2017 Framed
GIDEON APPAH
My work explores recent pop culture and what I believe to be a contemporary obsession with sexuality, as well as certain experiences like anxiety, pleasure, violence, glamour, labour and death. All of which portray a subculture within post-modern urban life in Ghana. At the same time I believe my work, by using a common language, reflects a universal subject matter. I lived close to a slum, and the run down, neglected and corroded structures, informal signage and general deterioration of Accra’s urban landscape have had a strong influence on my work. The materials I use, such as carton boxes, ashes, rags, sack cloth, adinkraduro (local dye) also derive from my environment. I explore and experiment without inhibition, fear or conformity: images and words, free flow, splashes and drips of paint, distortion, torn images, discarded and salvaged objects, collage and text. It is through these processes that I hope to evoke the sociocultural and economic landscape of Accra’s urban space, whilst at the same time challenging our perception of aesthetics.
Gideon Appah Orange scrawl on yellow Mixed media on canvas Artwork size: 80 x 101cm Frame Size: 127 x 108 cm 2017
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Gideon Appah Yellow scrawl on purple Mixed Media on canvas Artwork Size: 99 x 84 cm Framed Size: 126 x 107 cm 2017
Gideon Appah Poison Mixed Media on canvas Artwork Size: 113 x 81 cm Framed Size: 140 x 107 cm 2017