I am interested in the work of contemporary practitioners, who explore the interconnectedness of personal, political, and economic vernaculars, recognizing material histories as powerful tools for cultural survival, innovation, and healing from the impacts of trauma and conflict. Through the synthesis of media and concepts within their specific histories and contexts, these artists create multidimensional atmospheres within the gallery setting, that invite audiences to step into the shoes of those who have experienced, and continue to experience social, political and economic injustices.
For instance Fig1. uses materials often dismissed as craft to monumentalise people and stories that have historically been ignored, celebrating individuals and communities who preserved their dignity and traditions in impossible circumstances (Gibson, 2024). Fig2. explores the history of war and peace through 5,270 books bound in Dutch wax batik, raising questions about human memory and amnesia, asking whether we truly learn from our conflicts and treaties, or we simply continue to repeat the same catastrophe (Serpentine, 2024). Fig3. utilises old clothing, bamboo poles and red calligraphy paper to address themes of impermanence, tradition and urbanization. Drawing on personal archive photos, it reflects the complex longing and confusion of the artist in the face of migration (Yi, 2023).
Fig4. incorporates blue patchwork curtains, subtly depicting the artist’s former family house, resembling a neural network retrieving data from a collective knowledge pool to fill in memory gaps amid confusion. This piece seek to gradually clarify, challenging viewers to engage in a space where their presence fluctuates, reflecting the experiences of migrants who face the discomfort of inhabiting both the roles of the observed and the observer simultaneously (Kadyri, 2024). Fig5. features twelve Palestinian embroidery on fabric, representing a key region of Palestine combined with steel cable, inviting visitors to navigate through physical and mental barriers. This work evokes the challenges faced by countless people around the world (MFAH, 2024). Fig6. employs beads, cotton twine, turmeric tea and fabric dye to create ‘desired lines’ a makeshift pathway linking Cape Town suburbs to townships established under the Group Areas Act of 1961 for coloured communities forcibly removed from the city (Marill and Hunegs, 2022). By transposing working-class homes into the gallery space, the work evokes the transcendent in the everyday, recalling the movement of bodies over time. It offers a remembered presence in absence, subtly reflecting the history of people on the move, and those denied the right to move.
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