(Husain & Hasan Essop)
28 year-old twin
brothers Hasan and Husain Essop are the winners of the 2014 Standard Bank Young
Artist Award for Visual Art. The exhibition made possible by this award opens
at the Durban Art Gallery on September 18.
Born and raised in
Cape Town, the twins have been collaborating since their graduation from the
Michaelis School of Fine Art in 2007. They both completed a Bachelor of Fine
Arts and Postgraduate Diploma in Art at Michaelis and, subsequently, Postgraduate
Certificates in Education at the University of Cape Town.
The twins graduated
with individual bodies of work, but when they were approached by the Goodman
Gallery in 2007, they proposed the idea of collaborating and making art
together - the first time they ever worked together.
“Growing up, Husain
and I were close but also apart,” explains Hasan. “We went to school together,
and lived in the same house but we had different friends, likes and interests,
and developed different identities and skills which we then brought together
when working together.”
Husain specialised
in Photography and makes all the important technical decisions when setting up
a shoot. Hasan specialised in Printmaking and therefore has a lot more freedom
in the post-production and printing of the work. They both contribute to the
subject matter and editing of the photographs, always discussing new ideas and
locations to shoot. They speak very visually to each other and many ideas are
born from their conversations; using popular culture, the media and Hollywood
as inspiration because those are the things that interest the youth and forming
the next generation.
“There are many things that drive, motivate and inspire
me.” says Hasan. “My religion and spiritual belief - in my opinion - is the
most important, as this guides my life, creative process and subject matter. I
love art and everything that comes with it. At times it is extremely
controversial and challenges my beliefs, but I am motivated to find a balance
between religion and art. My community and culture, traditions and religion are
subjects that I feel that have not been explored and this provides an
opportunity to portray ideas to people that have not encountered them before.”
The Essops explain:
“Our series of work highlights a multi-cultural clash between religion and
popular cultures. We explore the dominating influence of Western theatrics and
those narratives that are constructed to depict a certain reality. Inspired by
Hollywood’s visual language and tactics, we create our own narratives. Each
photograph reflects us in a battle of moral, religious and cultural conflicts.
Two dominant personalities appear, East and West with all their stereotypes.
Environments are chosen as stages on which to perform and define our behaviours.”
Over the past few
years the brothers have been establishing themselves in various parts of the
world. During 2009 they completed a residency in Cuba (coinciding with the
inclusion of their work on Integration and Resistance in the Global Age
at the Havana Biennale) and facilitated a workshop on invitation from the
University of Hamburg, Germany. They were selected for the Dakar Biennale in
2010, and credit the recognition they received from taking part in the Spier Contemporary
exhibition (2007 and 2010) as big boosts for their career.
Their work has
appeared in several group shows, including the ABSA L’Atelier in Johannesburg, Power Play at Goodman Gallery Cape, Peekaboo Current South Africa at The
Helsinki Museum in Finland, and Figures
& Fictions: Contemporary South African Photography at the Victoria and
Albert Museum in London. The brothers took part in a residency at the Thami
Mneyele Foundation in Amsterdam in 2011, holding their first solo exhibition in
the Middle East at the Isabelle van den Eynde Gallery, in Dubai, titled Indelible Marks, in the same year.
The Essops’ work
has been included in various private and public collections, including the
Spier Collection, the Durban Art Gallery and the South African National
Gallery. The Goodman Gallery has hosted two solo exhibitions of their work – Halaal Art (2010, Johannesburg) and Remembrance (2012, Cape Town).
“Becoming an artist
has been a dream come true, but at the same time extremely difficult. To have a
twin brother who shares your experiences and qualifications, and that is
driven, is in my opinion the leading factor in our success.” says Hasan.
There have been
many proud moments in their career, including a visit from Sir Elton John to their
parents’ home in Rylands to buy some of their work; and being selected by Puma
to create a design for the national soccer team jersey, which Bafana Bafana
have been wearing since 2011; but the twins remain, foremost, committed to
their families and community.
Both working full-time
as educators in boys’ schools in Cape Town, they focus a lot of energy on developing
and maintaining their skills. “I believe that in order to share knowledge you
need to have it, and therefore teaching has made me a better person and artist”
explains Hasan. “I love being kept busy and my mind busy as it keeps me sharp
and ready to embrace new challenges and obstacles,” he says.
Motivated by the
influence of significant teachers in their own lives, they hope to inspire
others, especially the youth through education, and thus leave a positive
legacy in South African Art.
Hasan and Husain Essop's exhibition runs from September 18 to
October 6 at the Durban Art Gallery.
For more on their
work, please see: www.goodman-gallery.com/artists/hasanhusainessop
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