Published 03 July 2023 in News
NWU Humanities
'Stairways & Ruins' Group Exhibition Curated by Andrew Lamprecht
North-West University (NWU) Gallery
Potchefstroom campus. North-West Province, South Africa.
17 July – 17 August 2023
Vernissage: Monday 17 July at 13:00 (SAST)
A collaboration between the research niche ViNCO (Visual Narratives and Creative Outputs) at the North-West University, the NWU Art Gallery and IZIKO Museums of South Africa.
Participating Artists Include: Armand Aucamp, Sandi Basi, Lindi Cameron, Louisemarié Combrink, Annemi Conradie-Chetty, Marna de Wet, Neo Diseko, Candice Edwards, Héniel Fourie, Nicola Grobler, Franci Greyling, Danelle Heenop, Marina Herbst, Paula Kruger, Jean Lampen, Ricardo Liut, Colette Lotz, Kaylin Moonsamy, Lesego Motsiri, Pieter Odendaal, Juan Steyn, Kiveshan Thumbiran, Joe Turpin, Jan van der Merwe, Corné Venter and Zinhle Zulu.
"I am building a stairway to the stars. I have the authority to take the whole of humanity with me. That is why I write"
- Bessie Head.
"There is always a return to the ruins, only to the womb we cannot return"
- Sol Plaatje.
Stairways speak to the power and purpose of writing and storytelling: to build and dream, create new pathways that transport others to new places or states of mind. Ruins, in turn, suggest a return to and an examination of the ‘ruins’, the wreckage, the ashes of the past, the places we come from, the things or people we have lost. By converging metaphors associated with stairways and ruins as theme for a group exhibition (2023) and themed journal issue (2024), ViNCO aims to create platforms for artistic production and discourse on South African and African visual narratives and the histories and future visions that shape them.
About the Curator
Andrew Lamprecht is curator of historical paintings and sculpture at the Iziko South African National Gallery.