November 4, 2003
By Tammy O'Reilly
UNDERGROUND graffiti culture is taking its place in the mainstream with an unusual exhibition of photographs, The ones on top won't make it stop, currently on exhibition at the Johannesburg Art Gallery.
Making the work of the unknown graffiti artists visible, photographer Lolo Veleko's exhibition of pictures taken around Johannesburg and Cape Town opened at the gallery on Sunday 2 November. The photographs are accompanied by a video of South African and Swiss graffiti shot during her recent residency in Basel, Switzerland.
"I got the name from graffiti writing I saw while I was in Cape Town. The statement makes sense, especially for graffiti writers, because for many years people and parts of society have been trying to stop graffiti artists," said Veleko.
She maintains that graffiti is a means of expressing issues that the youth encounter in post-apartheid South Africa. "The global world thinks that South Africans are free and live in peace, whereas it is not so. The youth still struggle with identity and gender issues and the use of public spaces are used to express their concerns."
Veleko, a finalist in the 2003 MTN New Contemporaries Award, has had her work exhibited at the MuseuMAfrika in Newtown and at an exhibition in Switzerland.
Her show is on at the gallery until 2 December.
Also currently on at the Johannesburg Art Gallery is Déjà vu, a multi media exhibition, mixing video, photography and objects, by fourth year fine arts student Simon Gush. Gush's work is based on paintings and footage stolen from movies.
"I work mainly with video and found objects. I use found footage, mainly stolen from movies," said the Wits School of Arts' student. Gush uses these objects to respond in a critical way to issues within art and the immediate environment.
Déjà vu, which also opened on Sunday 2 November, is on until 23 November.
Curator for contemporary collections at the Johannesburg Art Gallery, David Brodie, said: "These two young artists have the opportunity to work with a variety of media, which is an exciting way to express themselves."
For more information call the Johannesburg Art Gallery on 011 725 3130. The gallery, on King George Street, Joubert Park, is open from 10am to 5pm from Tuesday to Sunday.
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