The image traditionally held for the art world, when it comes to both people and institutions,  is quite austere; a strict code founded on a western sensibility in which severity equates to seriousness. Art as an industry has systematically functioned as a branch for exclusivity – and in many ways, the commodification of creativity – which is in stark contrast to the inherent channel for freedom and expression that art truly is. Yet, it is precisely within this confinement of spirit that artists themselves have always challenged; and it is within this mood of liberation from severity or restriction that artist and curator Jana Terblanche has found her voice. Jana Babez, as she is affectionately known, has been a maverick and mother of Cape Town’s (and South Africa at large) art scene for a decade; beginning her journey as a student and later graduate at Michaelis School of Fine Art, in the early 2010s. For Jana, pink is the most illuminating colour – and Britney Spears is perhaps the most important artist of our generation. This is not irony; these facts speak to Jana’s greater sense of performance as precisely herself, self-describing as “girly, joyful and fun” – and is with this authenticity that Jana shows up as one of the most important curators in South Africa; as a guardian of the arts, and protectress of creative freedom.

‘’Art was the thing I was drawn to my whole life. I knew it was going to be an unusual choice, as it’s one of those paths with less certainty, and I think that challenge really spoke to my curiosity. I gravitated towards performance art during my studies, and developed a foundation that mixed together my sense of playfulness with how female bodies are perceived in society. I do think my life is a bit of performance anyway – I like to entertain myself, and it’s interesting to see how people’s biases can be very concerned with the image in their mind of what an artist or art should look like. I think life is one long artistic process, for everyone, so having my own self or personality and the art I’ve made be indistinguishable from each other has helped me maintain an authenticity, I think.” Jana’s work has been a dialogue with the treatment of women’s bodies in South Africa quite a bit before the fight against Gender-Based Violence began to sweep the country. Jana and many women and femme-identifying artists continue to remind us that sensuality is a birthright, and to have it both policed and violated in the way it has (and continues) is a battle that continues to be fought. 

The last few years have seen Jana’s artistic practice evolve into custodianship; as a curator with an impressive and growing repertoire for creating shows from Joburg to Lagos, to London and Rotterdam. On this, she says “As much as my own story is interesting, I love other people’s stories – and I think there are so many that need to be told. I have found my strength in curatorship right now, and it feels like it intersects with my artistic practice because there are performative aspects to it, but also the deep collaboration that occurs between curator/s and artists. It can be this very beautiful synergy that as a curator, I can nurture artists. I also love standing in between being very girly, over the top but also fucking professional – and so the bridge is that, performing this role of a curator that’s meant to be behind the scenes, but actually bringing my own sense of fun and spirit into the mix. I think it’s refreshing.”

Jana’s work continues to relay her clarity and vision on the purpose of art, and its relevance for healing and contextualising the lived experience of human beings. Last year, Jana co-curated a standout show with Anelisa Mangcu, titled “Everything was beautiful and nothing hurt”, centred on the complexity of black identity in modern culture, with an emphasis on joy and trauma as dualistic. Jana reflects, saying; “I have been travelling to Lagos quite a bit because I’m affiliated with the African Artists’ Foundation as a curator. Within that realm, black portraiture has been emerging as a very critical movement for reclamation for black bodies. I wanted to bring this conversation home, so Anelisa and I co-curated the show for Art Joburg – and the director for the space, Mandla Sibeko, gave us incredible free-reign – outside of a gallery context, too. It was a very cool experiment on taking away certain constructs in art such as commerce, and then having the show held together by this poignant theme of black portraiture. Anelisa is a longtime friend, and we have walked a long journey together – we went to high school together – so this was a very special, full circle moment. The energy in Joburg is crazy too; the response and hype from everyone who came just enriched the whole experience, and it’s one of those moments where I am strongly reminded of why art exists, and why it’s so important.”

Jana’s work continues to expand as she continues to use her curatorial role to celebrate queerness. Last month, Jana’s show Hot House in London, and on this she comments; “For Hot House, I worked with Sixty Six in London. They are what we could call a “nomadic gallery” as they’re not fixed by a venue – so they are not bound by needing to have a gallery schedule and the pressure that involves. I’m interested in seeing how we can take the traditional models and adapt them to suit our lives, the lives of artists and people. Growing up in Cape Town, Hot House was an enigma – and being surrounded by gay and queer friends all my life, there was this mystery around Hot House. I like this idea of people having a collective perception of something without actual experience of it – beyond judgment, too. I think Hot House was also a very important place in the city for the gay community, and so it felt like a beautiful way to acknowledge that. I asked Brett Seiler, Strauss Louw and Shakil Solanki to participate – it was very special.”

Jana’s practice is wholly concerned and considerate of what it means to truly “guard” the arts; and in that, is the representation for the true plurality of identity. Iconically, she and her best friends Martin Magner, Mavuso Mbutuma and Nash Mariah were flown to Sweden by H&M for an exclusive campaign celebrating Pride Month. The concept was the sacred experience of getting ready together before a night out – the love shared, secrets spilled and intimacy of being with chosen family before the night takes on a life of its own (as it always does). Surprisingly, in a time where “rainbow-washing” during Pride Month is unleashed as a feigned gesture by corporations, H&M released no products alongside the campaign, “We had so much fun! It was a wild thing to happen – and so cute to be in Stockholm, having our make-up done and styled, all of us together after a decade as best friends, going through highs, lows – careers, heartbreak. Also a lot of the team from H&M were young and queer themselves, so we just felt very held.”

In many ways, Jana has just begun – and we are so excited to see what comes next from the iconic and exceptional Babez herself. 

/// Read about the H&M campaign here; Meet the Angels

Written by: Holly Bell Beaton

“Yada-Yada like Blah-Blah like Dada.”

“A persistent theme in Liberty Battson’s work has been the language of visual art. This latest body of work uses the iconic styles of major figures to engage with – and celebrate – modern art history.

The flat, colourful faces that make up ‘Yada-Yada Club’ draw on the languages of 20th century Masters. In a tongue-in-cheek postmodern overview, Battson acknowledges the impenetrability and opaqueness of their abstract and conceptual work to many people. Referring to a range of movements – from the Dadaists and Cubists to the New York School and Young British Artists, Battson aims for her viewers to recognise some of the silhouettes she has selected, and wonder about others.” – Lena Sulik for Everard Read Gallery

Liberty Battson has coined a new term for her latest showcase – “Art Gibberish”. What at first seems to be a cheeky omission from an artist as “nonsense” – is in fact, a playful and loving semantic note that describes for Liberty her strongest theme running through her career: that art is a language; a syntactic arrangement that is infinitely variable, and pursued through many mediums and styles, the same way dialects become regional and linguistic jargon develops out of subcultures. Known for her distinct style using precise lines in vivid colours, “Yada-Yada Club” is the first diversion we have seen towards a new landscape for Liberty – instead, this showcase is explicitly post-modern, and uses a variety of Liberty’s most revered artistic Masters of the 20th century as affectionate references; creating interpretations of works from artists like Dalí and Matisse, for the viewer to decode in a visual treasure-hunt. 

On this diversion, Liberty says “This is the first body of work where I’ve ventured away from stripes but I’m still dominantly attracted to hard edge, clean cut lines even though this time they are objects. I like controlling the paint, even when I am painting freehand I still aim to have control over the paint, I’ve made looser work and come full circle where I want to contain it again. It’s just an overflow of influence. I’m in awe of Abstraction and Modern art whose key principles are uniformity, structure and geometry – this was a great challenge and undertaking in a period where art was very realistic and pictorial. I approach art very mathematically, using data, stats, numbers, codes. I still had a mathematical approach by selecting specific subjects and arranging them into funny faces. I knew exactly how each one should look before I even touched the canvas.”

Using her distinguishing medium, 2k automotive paint, Liberty explains why this has come be her signature, against the traditions of oils or water-colours; “I’ve always been inspired by artists who push the boundaries of their chosen medium, such as when painters master the timing and viscosity of paint to get you questioning if it’s actually painted or when ceramicist work dangerously thin or sculptors who make hard materials look soft. It was important for me to use Automotive paint on a medium (canvas) to which it wasn’t designed and get the same finish as if it was painted onto car parts. It was important to me to master the material. I haven’t met many artists using it the way I do, therefore my work is quite recognisable. That’s the goal, you want to walk into a room and recognise the artwork before you go close enough to read the  signature. Even better to wonder how the artist made it, to get the viewer thinking.”

Encouraged by the artists referenced in Yada-Yada Club, Liberty remains committed to the pursuit of her own artistic development; and this mindfulness is perhaps rooted in her genuine joy and awe for the stylistic traditions that have come before her. Commenting on the exhibition’s affectionate tone, Liberty says, “These faces are made up of different Master artworks over the past decade, most with the theme of being anti-war, inspired by Dada. I hope viewers see the silhouette of one or more of these artworks or better yet see their own imaginary subjects. Kazi is the nickname for Kasimir Malevich who features in this artwork alongside Salvador Dalí, Alexander Calder, Philip Guston and Pablo Picasso. Gav is my nickname for Gavin Turk. In this artwork there is also representation of Yves Klein, Marcel Duchamp and Alexander Rodchenko. Néné is my name for René Magritte, who starred with Edvard Munch, Philip Guston and Yves Klein. Fridz is short for Frida Kahlo, one of few women artists represented here, alongside Jackson Pollock, Damien Hirst and Henri Matisse.  It is always my intention to celebrate these Masters and show my close relationship with them, their impact on me; that’s what inspired the titles, as well as to link the personification so viewers could identify a face.”

Yada-Yada Club is on show at Everard Read Gallery Cape Town until 2nd July 2022.

Written by: Holly Bell Beaton

“The concept for Spring Awakening arises from the idea of spring as a time of intense ecological, physical and psychological change. Curator Lindsey Raymond invited artists to consider the role of renewal and growth in their work, as well as their opposite – loss and decay.

“In springtime, the future is a thing that gleams within palpable reach like a ripe fruit ready to be plucked from a tree. It signifies the starting growth of a new harvest, while occupying the liminal space between a year almost passed and a year yet to come. In this way, it is a time of reflection as much as it is a willingness for a future ideal,” Raymond notes.” – southernguild.co.za /// show notes.

Lea Colombo  
Lezanne Viviers
Madoda Fani        
Martine Jackson
Navel Seakamela    
NØDE
Porky Hefer            
Rich Mnisi
Rodney Band            
Shakil Solanki
Shirley Fintz           
Sisonke Papu
Talia Ramkilawan

I often wonder if the categorisation between designer and artist is merely a semantic technicality – determined by the “functionality” of the outcome, or body of work presented by either designer or artist. Attending gallery spaces such as Southern Guild, particularly their recent / current group show “Spring Awakening” – I find that this distinction or separation is further challenged, particularly as it makes clear that whether design or art; all creative pursuits are inherently functional – as essential contributions to the lived experience of being human, all of us leading lives marked deeply by our visual senses and aesthetic tastes. 

Since 2008, Southern Guild has pioneered South Africa’s collectible design positioning in the world – providing support, infrastructure and curatorial development within the country and continent. As with Spring Awakening, the intention to invite a wide range of creative artisans, from fashion and furniture designers, to printmakers, ceramicists, fine artists and weavers – continues to build a profound lexicon centred on design as the channel for many mediums, and profound story-telling. In this way, our creative landscape paints an encouraging picture; one that is cognisant of the plurality inherent to local self and collective expression.

Highlights of the showcase were perhaps every piece exhibited, by the 25 artists. Malian designer Cheick Diallo’s tie-dyed, curved cabinet is an homage to the daily trade of West African cities, while Shirley Fintz’ eight ceramic totems held the central space in one part of the gallery room. Referencing the Hindu and Buddhist teachings on the energy centres held within the human body –  her figures reference the archetypes of healing in both spiritual and physical contexts. Shakil Solanki’s Drape My Hopes Upon The Chance To Touch Your Arm I, takes the figure of Ophelia and translates her essence into the delicate silk folds of a sari, ornately painted to depict a languid arm reaching downwards within its soft surroundings. In a similar vein of intimacy, Jozua Gerrard’s Coming Down relays the tenderness between two lovers, specified as an interracial couple, which for the artist is a subtle invitation for society to to accept love across seemingly differences.

Githan Coopoo showcases My First Urn, a deeper exploration of his practice centred around the vessel – this time, delving into the symbolically rich construction of the “the urn”. The QR code description, ascribed to each piece, contextualises Githan’s vivid ombré urn and plinth, “The artwork invites a conversation around Western attitudes towards death and denial by the living. ‘’Death is, in itself, a fortune, a life’s only guarantee or promise amidst a universe of uncertainty’’, Githan states,’’ in this way, it is also a universal fortune, one that we all share, one that binds us.” 

Rich Mnisi presents a special edition titled, Nwa-Mulamula’s Chaise – Vutomi (Life) – a curved chaise held by the swirling greens akin to the abstract print in the fashion designer’s Mafamba Yexe fashion collection. Mnisi continues his inquiry into Bushongo mythology, the pattern depicts the purge Bumba – the god who birthed the world – representing his purge in the rich shades of grin, swirling like prima materia of universal creation. Talia Ramkilawan’s signature medium of tapestry across a wooden frame is seen in the magnificent Text Me When You Get Home, a continuation of her subversion ‘’against the stereotypes of her lived experience as a queer Indian woman.’’

Fashion designer Lezanne Viviers presents two pieces – But-a-Body, a garment made from the rejected, offcuts leather of the high-end fashion industry, is both a personal reflection of the self and a commentary on Lezanne’s situational relationship with the excess of the fashion industry, one in which waste and rejection of materials and bodies continues to dampen the experience of true artistic expression. The fabric is overlaid with a printed image of Lezanne herself, naked and bent, contrasting herself with animal bones. Grotesque and mesmerising – I stand, once again, in awe of Lezanne and Viviers Studio as an immense site of sartorial expression.

Written by: Holly Bell Beaton