At The Stevenson: The Quiet Violence Of Dreams

WORDS Malibongwe Tyilo

Thursday 20 July will see the Stevenson gallery open a new exhibition, The Quiet Violence of Dreams, simultaneously across two cities, Cape Town and Johannesburg, and across three venues: the two Stevenson galleries in the two cities, as well as Blank Projects in Cape Town.

The exhibition borrows its title from and pays tribute to the seminal novel by late author K. Sello Duiker. The book follows the life of Tshepo as his “inner life traverses madness, shame, sex, violence, power, intimacy, history, xenophobia, sexuality, love, race, mysticism and mystery.” And according to the Stevenson gallery, “themes that in many ways foreshadowed prominent focal points in South African contemporary art as it emerged from the period in which the book was written.” We caught up with Joost Bosland, partner at the Stevenson gallery as well the curator of this exhibition, which he developed in conversation with acclaimed artist Moshekwa Langa.

How did this idea come about?

I first read Duiker’s novel in 2004, when I was studying at UCT and lived in Observatory. I think it was my friend Joan who gave me a copy.  It spoke to me then because of its vivid description of the world around me – we ate at Ganesh, partied in De Waterkant and hung out on Hiddingh’s campus; Joan’s cat was called Tshepo. When I reread the novel a decade later I realised how many of the themes our artists deal with were foreshadowed by the book, and how Duiker’s legacy had much broader implications.

How did you come to work with Moshekwa Langa on this project?

As the idea for an exhibition crystalised in my mind, I started asking people about their thoughts on the book. It turned out that many of the people I spoke to had known Duiker personally. Moshekwa met him in the Netherlands in 2003, where he attended the Crossing Border Festival, along with Stacy Hardy, Ivan Vladislavic, Lesego Rampolokeng, Phaswane Mpe and Nadine Botha. They stayed in touch afterwards, though they were never to meet in person again. Speaking with Moshekwa galvanised the process, and we soon set dates and started writing to artists to invite them to participate.

The exhibition opens simultaneously across two cities and three spaces, why did you decide to do that? And how do you manage it?

While the novel is very much a portrait of Cape Town, the issues it raises resonate across the country.  It also allowed the show to be a bit more amorphous, hard to pin down, which felt appropriate.

Managing it is an organic process – Sisipho Ngodwana, who produced the show, worked closely with Jonathan Garnham at Blank Projects and Kabelo Malatsie at our Joburg space. Sisipho is a bit of a miracle worker; the show would not exist, nor look as good as it does, without her.

What will be the difference in the experience and the art across the two cities?

In Joburg the opening night will feature a sound performance, Battle of the CBDemons, by ANGELBOYZ CHOIR (ANGEL-HO, Bogosi Sekhukhuni and Hlasko). The exhibition is in collaboration with Blank Projects in Cape Town, and we used this opportunity to show three artists affiliated with them in Gauteng: Igshaan Adams, Turiya Magadlela and Bronwyn Katz.

In Cape Town we have a bit more space to play with, so it allows for installations that are a bit grander. A new video by Robin Rhode, based on a poem by Don Mattera, for example, shares a space with a Penny Siopis painting and an installation by Buhle Siwani. We have also given Unathi Sigenu, who passed away in 2013, a posthumous solo show – an exhibition within the exhibition, if you like.

What was the thinking behind your selection of artists?

All artists in the show, one way or another, make work that relates to the themes in Duiker’s novel. Artists associated with Stevenson were a point of departure, and from there Moshekwa invited the young French artist Raphael Barontini and Abdulrazaq Awofeso from Lagos, and we started speaking to Jonathan at Blank. It was also a great opportunity to show historical works by Lyle Ashton Harris, a conceptual American photographer who grew up with a South African father, and Akram Zataari from Lebanon. We gave copies of Duiker’s novel to a number of younger artists, like FAKA, Jody Brand, Buhle and Bronwyn. For some of them it was the first time encountering the book, and many made work in direct response.

Lastly, what excites you the most about contemporary South African art at the moment?

Mmakgabo Helen Sibidi and Jody Brand hanging side by side.

For more information, visit stevenson.info.