Otherscapes: Four Installations by Four Contemporary South African Artists 28 June – 4 November 2023 – Poems, Pictures & Prose by Saaleha Idrees Bamjee

“Otherscapes proposes surveying the scene of contemporary South Africa through the artistic practices of four contemporary South African artists whose installations can be viewed as ‘scapes’. These address a local context by interrogating the tension between utopia and failure. Siemon Allen, Wim Botha, Sethembile Msezane and Nicholas Hlobo reflect their subjective views of South Africa by embodying narratives that elucidate the complex issues in which the country is entangled.Otherscapes proposes surveying the scene of contemporary South Africa through the artistic practices of four contemporary South African artists whose installations can be viewed as ‘scapes’. These address a local context by interrogating the tension between utopia and failure. Siemon Allen, Wim Botha, Sethembile Msezane and Nicholas Hlobo reflect their subjective views of South Africa by embodying narratives that elucidate the complex issues in which the country is entangled.”

I visited the exhibition last month. The installations are immersive and provocative. It is on until November 4th, 2023 at the JCAF (Joburg Contemporary Art Foundation) in Forest Town. Click here to book your tour.

Here are a few of my images: