Dada South? Exploring Dada legacies in South African art 1960 to the present
‘Dada South?’, curated by Roger van Wyk and Kathryn Smith presents a collision of artistic strategies and forms that reflect the impact of Dada; works conceived and enacted in the spirit of Dada, and which seek to question the conventions, values and function of art in a troubled society. The juxtaposition of works from South Africa and from abroad aims to examine the significance of non-western cultures in Dada practice. It also provides an opportunity to consider an alternative history of resistance in a culture of isolation and repression in South Africa, one that intersects with the canon of ‘resistance art’, but which deviates into forms that are less didactic, more eclectic and experimental.
On exhibition will be historical Dada works and publications by Marcel Duchamp, George Grosz, Raoul Hausmann, John Heartfield, Hannah Höch, Man Ray, Hans Richter and Sophie Täuber-Arp – all assembled for exhibition alongside works and objects by Jane Alexander, Walter Battiss, Willem Boshoff, Candice Breitz, Kendell Geers, Neil Goedhals, Wopko Jensma, Robin Rhode, Lucas Seage and Nathaniel Stern among many others.
The opening features a series of performances by Warrick Sony, Donna Kukama and Kemang wa Lehulere and the Iziko Museums Education and Public Programmes, among others.
12 December – 28 February
