November 21, 2006
By Anish Abraham
AN explorative three-month long exhibition looking into the lives of female photographers in the media is currently under way at the Johannesburg Art Gallery, with a panel discussion set for Tuesday, 21 November.
The exhibition, Women: Photography and New Media, focuses on local, modern-day female artists working with traditional and digital photography. It explores the ways in which the artists engage with discourses around the portraiture, mirroring the self and imaging the body.
"This exhibition engages different notions of portraiture, such as where something other than the face stands in for the portrait," said Amy Watson, co-curator of the exhibition.
It has become somewhat of a custom for such discussions to take place along with the exhibitions that feature at the Johannesburg Art Gallery, which is a firm promoter of education in the arts.
A picture of a tree stump taken by Zanele Muholi
A panel discussion has been scheduled this evening, starting at 6.30pm, and will look at the conceptual and critical concerns involving South African women working in photography and new media today.
Several of the artists whose work is being exhibited will be present, with Tracy Murinik, well-known art critic and member of Art South Africa, chairing the talk.
"By no means claiming to be all encompassing, this exhibition provides evidence that art by women cannot simply be defined as ‘feminine' or feminist art," Watson said.
The exhibition showcases established and emerging artists, including Bridget Baker, Natasha Christopher, Reshma Chhiba, Frances Goodman, Nadine Hutton, Terry Kurgan, Lerato Maduna, Ingrid Masondo, Anthea Moys, Zanele Muholi, Robyn Nesbitt, Jo Ractliffe, Tracey Rose, Vathiswa Ruselo, Usha Seejarim, Penny Siopis, Doreen Southwood and Nontsikelelo Veleko.
The artists exhibited cross boundaries between social documentary, fashion photography, photo-based installation, digital, new media, sound and sculpture.
"The exhibition encompasses images that seem to belong more to the private domain, where the viewer is implicated in its inherent voyeurism, but also work of a more playful extrovert nature such as Moys' In air," she added.
The exhibition runs at the Johannesburg Art Gallery in downtown Johannesburg between 9 November and 28 February 2007. The gallery is open from Tuesday to Sunday between 10am to 5pm. It is closed on Mondays.
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