Mohau Modisakeng | ENDABENI and Silvia B. | Stringendo

STRINGENDO by Silvia B.

Galerie Ron Mandos presents Stringendo, a new series of sculptures by Silvia B. Silvia B. (NL, 1963) is known for her sculptures of hybrid figures; caught between age, gender and culture, between human, animal and doll. In addition to her iconic sculptures she makes drawings, photographs and also curated several projects. Her work is characterized by a constant battle between attraction and repulsion. A duality that comes from her vision of the world, how people behave according to so called codes of civilization and yet are still driven by their instinctive fears and desires.

Silvia B. (NL, 1963) is known for her sculptures of hybride figures which she presents in a wide range of settings. Stringendo — a musical term that indicates the retained increase of intensity — shows her latest extremely realistic sculptures of vulnerable adolescent dancers who are struggling with their bindings, strings and wooden parts to grow. The rats that flank the dancers sides, should seem completely inferior, but in the compositions of Silvia B. they have an angelic and pure appearance. The staging of the two complementary characters sums up the drawback of human civilization.

Stringendo {a musical term that indicates the retained increase of intensity} continues Silvia B.’s line of work of highly realistic sculptures. First presented for the Dolf Henkes Prize she started a new series of sculptures that are both hyper realistic and abstract because of the use of fragmentation and repetition in shapes. La Dolores, an air dancer hanging from a rope in an impossible position, calmly and with her eyes closed, started off the series. The figures are produced with impressive craftsmanship and include wooden components which question their humanity. For Stringendo Silvia B. returns again to the world of theatre, in which man puts himself literally in the spotlight, this time she chose the world of dance. She takes the ballerina as a symbol for extreme civilization, always highly disciplined and hiding her pain forever behind a beautiful façade of perfection. The rats that flank the dancers side, should seem completely inferior, being ultimately complementary to civilized man, while always living in the same numbers as we do and feeding theirselves from our waste. But they don't, in the compositions of Silvia B. they have an angelic and pure appearance which makes them almost equal to the ballerina’s. The staging of the two complementary characters sums up the drawback of human civilization. Our self-imposed subjection to it goes against mans nature and requires the highest standard from ourselves. On the other hand we try to grow and free ourselves from the strings that attach us to our homeland, education, family and culture, so we struggle in two directions. Meanwhile, it is this struggle that distincts us from the animal kingdom. At first sight Silvia B.’ sculptures look perfectly real which refers to the human desire for perfection and gives them a tremendous appeal. But when looking closely the illusion of beauty unfolds itself because of certain delicate and even macabre details. The ambivalence in imagery and concept make these sculptures very powerful; they are both alluring and horrible and equally accessible and reflective. This required the utmost of the artist. Like the ballerina she cannot escape the demand to perform to her best and to reinvent herself again and again, Stringendo shows the result of this.

Silvia B. lives and works in Rotterdam. Her work has been presented a.o. KIASMA - Museum for Contemporary Art in Helsinki, Design Biennial Istanbul, Verbeke Foundation in Kemzeke, Musée la Halle t. Pierre in Paris, GAD-Art in Oslo, Singer Museum in Laren, Centraal Museum in Utrecht, GEM and Museum Beelden aan Zee in The Hague, Stedelijk Museum in Schiedam, Garage in Rotterdam, MU in Eindhoven, TENT in Rotterdam, CODA Museum in Apeldoorn, Kunsthal in Rotterdam and Rijks Museum Twenthe in Enschede will show a retrospective in 2016.

ENDABENI by MOHAU MODISAKENG

Modisakeng (SA, 1986) is one of the most promising young South-African artists today. His practice is highly influenced by his own cultural heritage. Growing up as a black man in Post-Apartheid South-Africa, he has a special interest in reframing history and postcolonial theories. Modisakeng has a background in sculpture, but constantly seeks out to other mediums like photography, performance and video.

Heritage is always present in Modisakeng’s body of work, but he is very much aware of how the audience perceives his work as being autobiographical. He likes to use and manipulate his own history and that of his homeland by telling a story that is relatable to everyone. Combining different relics from both African and Western tradition, he creates a critical dialogue in powerful and clean, images, installations and sculptures. The exhibition ENDABENI will be his first solo presentation in The Netherlands.

Special performance during the opening 27 February 2016 at 6 pm
Ke Kgomo ya moshate reflects on the legacy of colonialism and its effects on post independence African society. The decolonization of African states between 1950 - 1960 saw new flags climbing flagpoles; new anthems being sung for the first time; new governments replacing colonial administration and a general sense of euphoria. In the preceding decade, the inherited social, political and economical systems of colonial rule remained entrenched in the governments of newly independent nations. Consequently, the lives of former colonial subjects, although free from the grip of European imperialism, remained relatively unchanged, except for the newly installed middle and elite classes. The economy remained under the control of a select few. Access to natural resources and various other commodities remained reserved for enterprising sectors of the population; whilst the struggling masses were left to fend for themselves in crumbling labour markets and increasingly hostile socio-economic climate. In South Africa, the legacy of the political corruption of the Apartheid system continued to hinder the processes of addressing historical imbalances. The issue of economic inequality was further exacerbated by worsening poverty and growing unemployment. These sorts of contrasts and contradictions in the 'post-colonial' era engender instability and thus produce an atmosphere of anxiety, unrest and conflict. In such volatile environments ethnic, political and social tensions engineered by centuries of colonial rule are easily exploited to escalate violent conflict. When civil war and disorder breaks out opportunistic political forces will compete for power in order to gain or maintain access to Illicit profits from the growing global appetite for African commodities.

Modisakeng completed his undergraduate degree at the Michaelis School of Fine Art, Cape Town in 2009 and worked towards his Masters degree at the same institution. He was awarded the SASOL New Signatures Award for 2011 and has exhibited at the South African Paviljon at the Venice Biennalle (2015); Saatchi Gallery, London (2012); Dak’Art Biennale, Dakar (2012) and Stevenson, Cape Town (2010). His work is included in public collections such as the Johannesburg Art Gallery, IZIKO South African National Gallery, Cape Town and SAATCHI Gallery, London as well as significant private collections such as Zeitz MOCAA.