WORDS Malibongwe Tyilo
On Friday 29 July 2016, SERIES/FRIENDS, a collaborative exhibition featuring work from 19 contributors, will open at Worldart Gallery in Cape Town.
This first instalment – which is one of three – will feature video art and only last for the duration of the week. According to the collaborators behind the project, “SERIES/FRIENDS is something to look forward to, co-curated, co-produced and co-dependent, like friendships. The exhibition aims to be as inclusive and open as possible in a time where community is a necessity and competition is intense.”
We caught up with the five young artists who collaborated in curating this initial installation.
How did this project come about?
Adam-Jon Williams: At the time of its inception, a few of us were staying together in a shared space, so using the idea of sharing and co-existing as a launching point, the SERIES/FRIENDS concept came to life. The idea to do an installation focused on videos happened quite organically. I think the significance of video and collaborative art is under-appreciated and more often than not, overlooked.
Why did you choose video?
Morgans Momm: A lot of our friends and peers are communicating almost exclusively through video, whether it be on Snapchat or Instagram, Vimeo or Tumblr. Often these videos get lost in the black hole that is the internet and unless you have a large following the work seems to slip by unnoticed. Pushing a video-based exhibition is perhaps the first step towards getting audiences to pay attention to the exciting work these people are doing without being distracted by Drake memes. Don’t get me wrong, the internet and Drake memes are very important and relevant.
Adam-Jon Williams: We also wanted as many people as possible to be involved in curating and participating in the exhibition, so by making the first instalment a purely video inspired show, we felt it would be more accessible to a wider range of people.
Please tell us a bit more about why it is split into three installations and what we can expect from each.
Rose Gelderblom-Waddilove: As we are looking to create the maximum amount of opportunities for collaboration we have created three separate installations in order to allow people who view and participate in the first instalment to express interest in collaboration for the following instalments. Broadly, I think the audience can expect personal interaction, alternative trade systems and great art! We are very excited to be working with artists who are still completing their studies, who are established and those who don’t even refer to their work as art. It is a diverse and exciting space for people to express themselves and gain some exposure around their work. Our collaborators are not limited to artists, their are amazing engineers, designers, publicists and writers who have expressed interest in, and contributed to the project. We are hoping that after part one, more of these contributors will approach us for the future projects.
You have spoken of limited opportunities in the “art world” hierarchy. Please elaborate on this. How is your project helping?
Sibu Ngcongca: It is very hard to make practical use of some of the ‘said’ opportunities available to artists; there are still limited opportunities for artists to showcase their work, structures are still very rigid and there is so much untapped potential in Cape Town, which still needs to be uncovered. We need more art spaces that allow for transformation and the transferal of skills, you will find one or two black females as gallery assistants but beyond that you don’t find black owners and directors, no black dealerships. Beyond that, we also have limited art residencies and finances to expand our skills.
Shaheed Martin: In this exhibition there is also no financial obligation for the artists. So there is no risk, no loss, only exposure and a chance to make work that is not about its economic viability. SERIES/FRIENDS is attempting to make a completely accessible art space. The project is open to anyone who would like to contribute and submit, no matter their skill set or interests. In fact, if anyone is interested in participating or contributing to the dialogue, please feel free to e-mail watchingseries.friends@gmail.com.
How is the project co-curated, co-produced and co-dependent? How do you guys manage that process?
Shaheed Martin: SERIES/FRIENDS is collaborating with people, not necessarily established artists. In the space there is a mix of contributors; although for the first installation we have invited people who are inclined towards making video. The artists were given no submission criteria other than a maximum time and the title, SERIES/FRIENDS, to depart from. All the artists had total creative license to do what they would like. Some of the contributors are creative practitioners from social media who would probably not have considered that their work is fine art. It is important to take videos out of the internet context and curate them within the gallery as art. It gives the work of emerging creatives the opportunity to be equally important, not just another meme or GIF that gets lost online. This is from my perspective, as someone who doesn’t consider themselves to be a fine artist.
Adam-Jon Williams: Managing the process has been a rewarding challenge; we would love to open the dialogue to more individuals and groups who have skills that can add to the managerial and publication process.
Who are the artists that will be showing?
Rose Gelderblom-Waddilove: For the first installation we have motion pictures from the following artists: Adam-Jon Williams, Alex Kaczmarek, Alicia Mersy, Ben Levin, Boe Strummer, Callum Fraser, Chris Kets, Daniel Rautenbach, Dumi Mparutsa, Herman de Klerk, Jabu Newman, Lucienne Bestall, Marianne Thesen Law, Matete Motubatse, Morgans Momm, Quaid Heneke, Rose Gelderblom-Waddilove, Shaheed Martin, Tom Windell.
The project is open to collaboration, we do not want to expose too much of our plans for the second and third installations of 2016 just yet. We can say that in part two we intend to occupy the space physically for the entire weekend of 26 – 28 August. Anyone who would like to find out more should Like the SERIES/FRIENDS Facebook page, where we will be keeping the audience up to date with announcements.
Lastly, what excites you the most right now about the local art scene?
Sibu Ngcongca: What’s exciting is its focus on cultural diversity with its many different artistic ideas and creativity. We can also see our youth becoming more experimental in their attempts to try and move away from the West’s formal artistic production and moving towards truly making art centered on our values and tastes. It’s exciting to see African artists in Africa producing African-centered content for Africans, for us and not needing validation from the ‘benevolence of an African authentic seal of approval by the West’.
Morgans Momm: For me it is the kids doing work outside of the local art scene. They are doing things, making things, saying things, wearing things. They aren’t being suffocated by the white cube, the gallery telling you to paint more, not be more. The local art scene is changing and doing it’s own thing and it is damn refreshing.
SERIES/FRIENDS opens at 7pm on 29 July and runs until the 31 July at Worldart Gallery, 54 Church Street, Cape Town. Follow the project on Instagram.
