GOLD - Exhibition of works by Jana +Koos & Adele Prins

ROOM Presents:

GOLD A collaborative exhibition by JANA+KOOS and Adele Prins

14.06 - 13.07.2012

ROOM is a new independent multi-disciplinary exhibition and project based space focused on collaboration, dialogue and exchange.

ABOUT THE EXHIBITION GOLD aka City of Gold-Diggers, is a collaborative exhibition by the creatives Jana+Koos and Adele Prins. The exhibition takes shape as a sartorial expression of migration, bling, greed, adventurers, street culture, pollution, pioneers, church and capped teeth. These themes are explored with playfulness. The works examine the energy and the spirit of a place that is both loved and hated for various, often overlapping reasons.

The body of work presented in this exhibition ranges from silkscreen prints and projections to three dimensional objects, created, collected and developed by the artists.

For JANA+KOOS & Prins, GOLD in the context of a collaborative exhibition, serves as a platform to express some of the work and ideas that they have been accumulating and experimenting with over the past year. “We have a deep-rooted love and fascination for Johannesburg and all its quirks, and this project is inspired by our interaction with this city as the place we stay, work and play in. It is a combination of design, art and illustration, silkscreen and digital prints, video and three dimensional objects. The only prerequisite we kept to, was to retain the color palette used by each to black, white and gold and thus allow for the different styles, interpretations and techniques we use in our work, to inform the final outcome. The end result is a vastly different take and execution, with something for everyone to appreciate about the city of gold (and it's gold diggers).”

Jana + Koos’ prints use conceptual vantage points interpreted through a range of different mediums and techniques including photographic digital manipulation, street inspired typography, graphic design, sourcing and styling. The silkscreens presented by Adele Prins in this exhibition developed out of a digital manipulation of ink sketches in combination with letterpress printing blocks which are influenced by her interest in book design and historic printing methods, with which she now creates new Joburg memoirs.

GOLD:

A collaborative exhibition of works by JANA+KOOS and Adele Prins ABOUT THE ARTISTS: Jana+Koos : Un.creative is a creative collaboration of two designers/art directors that studied information design at University of Pretoria (TUKS) and started their careers in advertising. After a few years and some big campaigns later, they decided to take a different approach to working as creatives and started their own studio. This allows them to work on advertising, strategic concepts development, graphic design, information design and mapping, illustration and collaborative art projects. Everything they do, be it purely visual executions or large extended brand campaigns are driven by concept. They believe in ideas and in trying new things, in cross-pollinating and in having some fun.

Since starting their own endeavor they have worked on various brands and with various design and advertising agencies, locally and internationally. Their new project based, media agnostic approach to creative work allows them the flexibilty to work on projects that include anything from strategic creative concepts for big brands to artwork and designs for smaller brands/clients as well as initiatives and interesting projects.

See their website www.janaandkoos.com to see more work.

Adele Prins is the Art Director and owner of PRINS, a graphic design studio, thats been in existence for twelve years and based in Johannesburg. Adele holds a BAFA & HonsFA in Information design from the University of Pretoria.

Her philosophy and aesthetic sensibility is focused on creating work with meaning, and can be seen in her iconographic book design, art-posters, websites as well as in her interest in non-profit design work whose focus is on humanitarian issues. She is committed to promoting culture and all the different art forms ranging from visual arts, music, dance etc.

In addition to her design work, she is also a fine artist, that works in various mediums ranging from drawing with pen & ink, and charcoal to oils and photography.

This is her second exhibition. She had her first photographic solo exhibition Travesías: imágenes de México, at the Market Theatre Gallery in 2006.

Adele’s work can be viewed at www.prinsdesign.co.za

GOLD:

A collaborative exhibition by JANA+KOOS and Adele Prins

14.06 - 13.07.2012

JANA+KOOS Oom Paul 2012 Silkscreen 69 x 54cm, Edition 1 of 5

GOLD:

A collaborative exhibition by JANA+KOOS and Adele Prins

Is she a fake?

The lady is a colonial marble bust sculpture of unknown origin. It refers to a golden time that has passed. By placing 80s men's sunglasses on her face she becomes the new metrosexual city slicker. The new me.

The Coca-cola is an old letterpress printing block used by the press to market coke. Its use in this context speaks about commercialism .

- howAmerica has infiltrated us, to sell their sugary, diabeticcreating water as "gold". The poor will drink Coke rather than water... and you can get Coke even in the smallest villages of Africa... Coke is hailed as the new Golden God in commercialism. What's been presented to us as realness is just fakeAmericanized ideals.

ADELE PRINS C-Lady 2012 Silkscreen 69 x 54cm, Edition 1 of 5

14.06 - 13.07.2012

GOLD:

A collaborative exhibition by JANA+KOOS and Adele Prins

14.06 - 13.07.2012

JANA+KOOS Stripper 2012 Silkscreen 69 x 54cm, Edition 1 of 5

GOLD:

A collaborative exhibition by JANA+KOOS and Adele Prins

JANA+KOOS & ADELE PRINS Izimpala 2012 Impala, Enamel and Spray Paint

14.06 - 13.07.2012

GOLD:

A collaborative exhibition by JANA+KOOS and Adele Prins

14.06 - 13.07.2012

JANA+KOOS & ADELE PRINS The Golden Rule 2012 Installation of various found and collected objects

GOLD:

A collaborative exhibition by JANA+KOOS and Adele Prins

14.06 - 13.07.2012

JANA+KOOS Rooster 2012 Photographic Print 69 x 54cm, Edition 1 of 5

GOLD:

A collaborative exhibition by JANA+KOOS and Adele Prins

JANA+KOOS Comfort and Safety 2012 Silkscreen 69 x 54cm, Edition 1 of 5

14.06 - 13.07.2012

GOLD:

A collaborative exhibition by JANA+KOOS and Adele Prins

14.06 - 13.07.2012

JANA+KOOS Bling Fingers 2012 Photographic Print 69 x 54cm, Edition 1 of 5

GOLD:

A collaborative exhibition by JANA+KOOS and Adele Prins

JANA+KOOS Golden Shower 2012 Silkscreen 69 x 54cm, Edition 1 of 5

14.06 - 13.07.2012

GOLD:

A collaborative exhibition by JANA+KOOS and Adele Prins

14.06 - 13.07.2012

JANA+KOOS & ADELE PRINS City of Gold Diggers 2012 One Channel HD Video, 2’03” DOP/Editor: Michale Daniel

GOLD:

A collaborative exhibition by JANA+KOOS and Adele Prins

As a graphic designer, books and letterpress blocks interest me and this historic letterpress block had been used as an image in a Johannesburg newspaper, years ago (not dated).

It was the way the press used images that fascinates me - they were r aster ized (represented in dots). It was a found object from a letter press pr inter in Door nfontein, that now is out of business as the printing technology is outdated. The ZS6TJ refers to a radio signal that was broadcasting Johannesburg affairs and news. This artwork speaks about communication, the city that we call home and then personal friends / individuals who make up what we call home - and how I communicate with them.

ADELE PRINS Radio Signal ZS6TJ 2012 Silkscreen 69 x 54cm, Edition 1 of 5

14.06 - 13.07.2012

GOLD:

A collaborative exhibition by JANA+KOOS and Adele Prins

14.06 - 13.07.2012

The domestic workers and nannies in Johannesburg - these women who raised us , cradled us, loved us and cared for us, while their children were in different countries or living away from them because of poverty and migration - are the real gold in our city. This is Julia, my friend.

You have not lived today until you have done something for someone who can never repay you.”

John Bunyon

ADELE PRINS Julia 2012 Silkscreen 69 x 54cm, Edition 1 of 5

GOLD:

A collaborative exhibition by JANA+KOOS and Adele Prins

I grew up in Johanneburg. My farther gave me my first bicycle that I used to cycle to school.

A man's face like that of my father's is reflected in the pool's water he passed away in 2010. The small details and the face show historical newspaper letter- printing blocks. The underwear on the bicycle is a reference to sexuality and one of my own personal holidays. What does the water say about the soul and what does the bicycle say about life? It's about living and recreating the past into a new narrative. Like Krisnamurti said. "Now is the present."

ADELE PRINS Distant Memory No 3 2012 Silkscreen 69 x 54cm, Edition 1 of 5

14.06 - 13.07.2012

GOLD:

A collaborative exhibition by JANA+KOOS and Adele Prins

14.06 - 13.07.2012

JANA+KOOS Zap 2012 Silkscreen 69 x 54cm, Edition 1 of 5

GOLD:

A collaborative exhibition by JANA+KOOS and Adele Prins

When my father retired, years ago - from his work in Braamfontein, his company gave him a golden watch as a gift. I gave this watch to mygardener. The question is 'what is the value of a life, after 40 years of work at the same company?" A golden watch that they can possibly kill you for? I think the watch has no value, other than the fact that we can read the time off it. In this case the watch also indicates that a time for change has come, regarding the way humans exploit nature. It also speaks about wealth, greed, and the fact that we as humans are also becoming removed from nature. We have created artificial, dead mine dumps - these are our mountains and natural environments in Joburg. They are dead wastelands with no animal life. I think we need to look at the real value of nature...

ADELE PRINS The Golden Handshake 2012 Silkscreen 69 x 54cm, Edition 1 of 5

14.06 - 13.07.2012

GOLD:

A collaborative exhibition by JANA+KOOS and Adele Prins

14.06 - 13.07.2012

JANA+KOOS Jo’burg Hates You 2012 Silkscreen and Glitter 69 x 54cm, Edition 1 of 5

GOLD:

A collaborative exhibition by JANA+KOOS and Adele Prins

JANA+KOOS & ADELE PRINS Imbuzimeshe 2012 Wildebees, Enamle and Spray Paint

14.06 - 13.07.2012

GOLD:

A collaborative exhibition by JANA+KOOS and Adele Prins

14.06 - 13.07.2012

JANA+KOOS & ADELE PRINS Ponyboy 2012 Bicycle, Chain and Spray Paint

ABOUT ROOM ROOM is a new and independent initiative initiated by Urbanart Project, showcasing visual arts-led, multidisciplinary programme of exhibitions, events, workshops, on-line and off-site projects providing mainly emerging artists with agency and opportunities to present their work. A space dedicated to collaboration, inter-disciplinary dialogue and exchange.

ROOM aims to be a part of an interrogative and constructive urban culture, which draws its references from its surrounding environment and by doing so, informs its visual sensibility, creative programming and values.

ROOM hopes to be a context, which increases awareness of the multitude of creative production, through the projects it engages with (be they poetry, music, performance or visual art based) and to take full advantage of the ever-increasing number of platforms in the public domain.

ROOM will function as an independent visual arts exhibitions and project based space, with monthly artistic programming.

For more information: Contact: Maria Fidel Regueros >> room@urbanartpojects.org ROOM Opening Hours: Mon – Fri

10h00 – 17h00

Saturday

10h00 - 15h00

ROOM and its Exhibition Programme is supported by: