Curated by Carol Brown

Until 31 July

Centenary Art Gallery, 1^st floor Centenary Complex, UFS

Monday to Friday: 10:00 – 15:00

This year has been marked with a series of international tragedies that remind us that intolerance, fanaticism and violence still pervade our world. Not enough has changed from the 1960s when the possibility of a more peaceful and tolerant society took hold of the world. The lyrics of “Blowin’ in the Wind” by Bob Dylan say it all. The curatorial intention of this exhibition is to revisit these lyrics in the light of a half century since.

Several of the works on exhibition deal with environmental and human exploitation issues including those surrounding the cornerstone of our country’s material wealth – the mining industry. The discourse about power and its abuse is evident in the works which relate to the Marikana killings. Violence and our society’s obsession with crime is a pervasive theme in the exhibition for example in the work by Lerato Shadi, where reminders of the Steenkamp/Pistorius case are juxtaposed with a video expressing the pain and entrapment to which many women are subjected. The fragile banner installation by Vulindlela Nyoni depicting a murmuration of swallows is an ambiguous reminder of both the power of solidarity, where a critical mass can alter the course of history. It is also the affirmation of the importance of the individual in the crowd.

The exhibition shows works by established and emerging artists in diverse media: William Kentridge, Jeannette Unite, Mary Wafer, Wonder Mbambo, Mthobisi Maphumulo, Andrea Walters.