(‘’The
Fearless’ by Zainab Ismail)
The African Art Centre will present a group
exhibition by Zainab Ismail, Iain Robinson and Levi Matthew Arrikum titled The Shift. These local artists were the
winners of the Fine Art category at the Interpret Durban 7 (ID7) competition
held in September 2016. The awardees were additionally offered an opportunity
to showcase their talents at the African Art Centre through an art exhibition.
Ismail, Robinson and Arrikum have produced
works that range from painted canvases, ink on paper, to mixed media on
cardboard. In keeping with the Centre’s mission to provide an outlet of
exposure, sale and dispatch of innovative work, this partnership with ID7
celebrates a well-rendered merging of digital design and fine art.
“Interpret Durban is an annual art contest
in which creatives present their thoughts of Durban within a given theme. According
to the ID7 team, The Shift speaks of
change, a fresh perspective on our beloved city and how we perceive the change
through art. This change shows us what the city could, might and is becoming,”
says Magdalene Reddy, Director of the African Art Centre.
Ismail, presently a third year Graphic Design
student at Durban University of Technology and also the first placed winner of
the ID7 competition, portrays a unique representation of the fauna and flora of
South Africa through her artwork. “The ideas behind my art pieces were simply
expressing the beasts of South Africa that are endangered and forgotten. I want
people to see that there is beauty behind these beasts. When creating my
artworks, I did not only portray the ‘Big 5’ but also other animals that
support our ecosystem and give more diversity to it. The animals are all unique
in their own way; they have different design structures and anatomies which I
used to my advantage.”
Iain Robinson, better known to Durbanites
as Ewok, presents an interpretation of street art through a collection of works
called Handstyles. “Hand-styling has
become its own genre within the Graffiti Art scene. The art of ‘getting up’ is
all about the repetition of that signature and its creative placement in the
urban cityscape. Artists battle for fame and notoriety by getting the most tags
up over the largest area, some even managing to go ‘all city’. Durban has an
established handstyle scene that is completing its second decade in 2018.”
Third placed winner Arrikum is also a
student at the Durban University of Technology. His artworks talk about the
social conditions of South Africa using Durban as his starting point. “My work
is based on my walks through the city where I see an integration of the classes
(lower, middle and upper) and the problems we have society as South Africans
and Africans.”
This group exhibition, Interpret Durban 7 SHIFT will be opened on June 28 2017 at 17h30
for 18h00. The public can view and experience this exhibition for a four-week
period thereafter.
For more details contact the African Art
Centre on 031 312 3804/5 or email africanartcentre@afri-art.co.za
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