
Robin Rhode
Slalom, 2012-2017

Working primarily in the streets of Johannesburg, Robin Rhode uses walls and sidewalks as the stage for his exuberant, narrative interventions and performances. Captured in serial photographs and stop-motion videos, Rhode’s work explores urban youth culture, socioeconomic inequality, and outgrowths of post-Colonialism. By creating absurd, impossible situations, like drawing a bicycle on a wall and attempting to ride it, Rhode references slapstick comedy and minstrel shows, expressing the struggle for equality and dignity with poignancy, humor, and poeticism.


Working primarily in the streets of Johannesburg, Robin Rhode uses walls and sidewalks as the stage for his exuberant, narrative interventions and performances. Captured in serial photographs and stop-motion videos, Rhode’s work explores urban youth culture, socioeconomic inequality, and outgrowths of post-Colonialism. By creating absurd, impossible situations, like drawing a bicycle on a wall and attempting to ride it, Rhode references slapstick comedy and minstrel shows, expressing the struggle for equality and dignity with poignancy, humor, and poeticism.