(Pic: Aurora West Gold Mine, watercolour by Gwelo Goodman. Ac Date 1945)Curator Vaughn Sadie explores the conflicts inherent within the Durban Art Gallery’s collection.
In the 119 years of its existence as public institution, the Durban Art Gallery has witnessed and recorded ideological and political shifts that have shaped South Africa and the city of Durban. During this period DAG has built a permanent collection of over 6,000 works.
This record / archive bears testament to the impact that these shifts and changes have had on people, situations and places. Conflicting Contexts, curated by Vaughn Sadie and due to open on May 19, explores the conflicts inherent within the collection - a collection which has, over the last century had to cater to the varying aesthetics and values of changing administrations.
The exhibition uses key works from DAG’s Victorian collection as its departure point. These works represent the prevailing themes of the period: war, landscape and idylls. Each has been carefully juxtaposed against more contemporary depictions of similar themes. The placement of the works, in relation to each other, affords the viewer the opportunity to reflect on aspects of social history and the universal nature of recurring themes.
With the current focus on 2010, Conflicting Contexts allows viewers the chance to reflect on the histories and narratives reflected in DAG’s permanent collection while lending insight into how South Africa’s present and immediate future will continue to be recorded and mythologised.
Conflicting Concepts will be opened at 17h30 for 18h00 on May 19 by artist and lecturer Bronwen Vaughan- Evans and will continue to be on show until August 1.
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