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ARTISTLAB | IN AND OF CULMINATION

09 June - 09 July 2021


Lionel Mbayiwa 
Mhorizhonga & Wakandiwana Ndirere, 2021
Archival ink on paper
100 x 75cm each
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ArtistLab | in and of culmination

culmination
/kʌlmɪˈneɪʃ(ə)n/
noun

The result or consequence of an action or cause / A crucial or decisive point or situation

This online exhibition is the culmination of Latitudes’ five-week ArtistLab mentorship programme, and presents a selection of artworks from each participating artist, works that were produced during the programme. ArtistLab works with artists at varying levels of their careers, mostly emerging, to equip them with the skills and tools needed to navigate the art world as professional artists.

This exhibition explores different ways in which we can experience art, and looks at new means of exhibiting and sharing content. The show highlights the processes in which the artists interact with digital platforms, as well as how audiences may engage with them. Devoid of physical engagement, what other means can we use? How can we innovate to overcome the challenges of experiencing art online?

Luxolo Witvoet

I am a self-taught photographer with a multidisciplinary background, combining digital methods with more traditional processes of collage and painting

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Hannah Macfarlane

Connecting and creating through vulnerability while cultivating a tender sense of self

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Gemma Shepherd

A meditative practice and intuitive return to the elemental nature of what it means to be fully and purposefully human within a liminal life

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Jet Withers

The art I make finds itself between the abject/erotic body and the structures that govern it, hold it, and disrupt it

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Buhle Nkalashe

A celebration of the African heritage through patterns as it is a strong symbol of our identity

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Tyrrel Thaysen

Where spirit, intelligence and medium gel there is great art

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Effo Munguanzo

My practice encompasses a variety of media, including painting, found objects and mixed media

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Ntobeko Mjijwa

To communicate truth, beauty, goodness and Justice within the socio-political of our culture. Grace and Peace

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Cassian Robbertze

My current body of work examines the effects the virtual world has on the real and the inevitable degradation of the real in favour of the digital, hyperreal

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Lionel Mbayiwa

My beliefs and culture shaped the way I conceptualise my work, and my upbringing carved the way I put my thoughts into my work

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Cassian Robbertze
At Your Finger Tips, 2021, Cretestone and Resin 
Abdication of Identity, 2021, Digital Print

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The show, in and of culmination, seeks to think about culmination not as an endpoint, but rather as transitory, a threshold, a point that can continuously be revisited. It seeks to think about culmination in the astronomical sense. In observational astronomy, culmination is the instant of time of the transit of a celestial object (the Sun, the Moon, a planet, a star, constellation or a deep-sky object) across the observer's local meridian. An object is said to culminate when it reaches its highest point in the sky. Consequently, an object at culmination may equivalently be described as transiting the meridian, or often simply transiting.

Periods of transition are usually filled with unlearning and learning, shedding, letting go of what no longer works and adopting new methods. Something this group of artists have experienced over the course of the ArtistLab mentorship programme. Each artist is in a process of culmination, transiting through their artistic careers, some as practising artists in their own right and others just beginning this journey. The exhibition showcases the rich support, and multifaceted approach to mentorship in the arts. The artists’ works range from photography, sculpture, installation, painting, demonstrating the wide selection of artists and their many interests.

The artists’ works, depth, scale, shifted over the programme and they were encouraged to think about and challenge themselves to consider not only the bond between artist and materiality, but also conversations in exhibiting their art making in a digital platform.

Curated by Nikita Keogotsitse

Latitudes ArtistLab was presented by established arts professionals along with independent artist and educational facilitator, Mandy Johnston. The project was co-founded and managed by curator Leigh Leyde. This free 5-session intensive seminar programme trained participating artists in some of the key skills needed to build a strong foundation for a career in the arts. In addition, artists developed work, under the supervision of established artists. This programme was made possible by the generous support of the National Arts Council. With thanks to the Norval Foundation, Cape Town for providing the beautiful venue.

With special thanks to artists Willie Bester, Ronald Muchatuta and Bonolo Kavula for their role in mentoring the 10 participating artists. Thank you to Nikita Keogotsitse for her insightful curation of the online exhibition. Thank you to the following arts professionals for facilitating the ArtistLab programme:

Mandy Johnston, ArtistLab founder and independent artist; curator Leigh Leyde; Lucy MacGarry and Roberta Coci, cofounders of Latitudes Online; Nkgopoleng Moloi, curator, writer and photographer; Ashley Walters, visual artist; Pyda Nyariri, visual artist; and Michaela Limberis, curator, founder of Art Meets app.

Lionel Mbayiwa's work in progress during an ArtistLab 
Mentoring Session at The Norval Foundation, 2021

 

This project is proudly supported by the National Arts Council of South Africa.

 

Further Reading In Articles

African Artist Directory

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