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Thursday, May 21, 2015

ANIMA-ANIMUS



Durban artists swany and Bernice Stott re-imagine the Jungian feminine and masculine archetypes in a joint exhibition, Anima-Animus, which opens at the artSPACE Durban on May 25.

Archetypes are definite motifs that can be found everywhere in the myths and fairy tales of world literature. “They impress, influence and fascinate us,” considers Stott. “CG Jung also describes the archetypes as “unconscious, pre-existed form that seems to be part of the inherited structure of the psyche.”

Inspired by the art of Dorothy Iannone, the artists explore gender and soul and give form to archaic ideas derived from the collective “fantasies, dreams, deliria and delusions” (ref Jung).

Bernice Stott’s art-making reflects her intrigue with the female body in contemporary South Africa. She has worked across disciplines in the media of painting, photography, sculpture, installation and performance art. Her associated activities have included curatorship of exhibitions and community art projects. Nationally she has exhibited in several centres and her most recent exhibition was Liquid Light at artSPACE Durban (2014). She has a Masters Degree in Fine Arts and an Honours Degree in Drama and has taught in both the Fine Arts and the Drama Departments of Durban University of Technology. From 1988-2013, she was employed as a visiting lecturer and examiner in the department of Drama and Performance Studies at the University of KwaZulu-Natal.

swany is a Durban-based artist who, while always retaining the characteristics of performance art in his pieces, works across disciplines. With his work, because it often deals with gender issues, he uses embroidery and stitching to deconstruct certain societal perceptions. He has exhibited at the KZNSA Gallery, artSPACE Durban, the Collective and the Durban Art Gallery. He most recently exhibited in the group exhibition, G1K1 (2014), at artSPACE Durban, and the Natal Arts Trust group exhibition, looking FOR ward: our lives in 2034 (2014), at the Durban Art Gallery. The artist has an honours degree in visual arts from UNISA and is currently studying for his masters in visual arts. He is employed as the KZN arts mentor lecturer for UNISA (part-time) as well as a designer in the clothing industry (full-time).

Anima-Animus opens at artSPACE Durban on May 25 and runs until June 13. artSPACE durban is situated at 3 Millar Road. Fr more information contact 031 312 0793.