Nicholas Hlobo Exhibition at Stevenson

WORDS Cheri Morris

Internationally-acclaimed and locally-loved South African artist Nicholas Hlobo showcases his latest body of work entitled Sewing Saw at Stevenson in Woodstock.

Hlobo’s first exhibition at the Stevenson is a feast for the senses and makes use of various materials including sewing machines, leather, inner bicycle tubes, treasure chests, canvas and live performance in an attempt to uproot and expand the understanding of his own personal mythology in a sort of reaction to his own achievements thus far. Sewing Saw highlights the destruction central to renewal and through the balance of process between sewing and sawing Hlobo meditates on how builders, seamstresses and carpenters utilise destruction as a precursor to creation.

The exhibition focuses on two main sculptures that are metaphorical for sewing and sawing. The sawing is translated by the sculpture titled Intsimbi edlezinye, which means “the metal that devours the other metals” and is an idiom used in Xhosa and Zulu culture to demonstrate the power of God. The sewing is exemplified by means of a performance installation titled UmBhovuzo: The Parable of the Sower where performers seated at sewing stations raised two metres off the ground engage in sustained mending.

The accompanying performance features Mbulelo Tenza Mzazi, Unathi Mkonto, Abongile Sidzumo, Siwa Mgoboza, Mesuli Nale, Mthetheleli Dlakavu, Ndimphiwe Makateng, Yanga Jadezweni and Lunsindiso Dibela.

The exhibition runs until 21 January 2017 at Stevenson Cape Town. Click here for more details or visit stevenson.info for more information.