Soil, ash, ochre and oxides on canvas
Image Credit – Paris Brummer
Art work featured in Reservioir’s ALT Section booth at this year’s Investec Cape Town Art Fair.
A funeral procession, conducted for aristocrats or nobles, is an ancient Roman ritual. Deceased figures of political or religious significance would be paraded through the streets for the collective grief of the nation prior to the burial. The mapped routes of these processions were usually strategic, its memorial aims were commemorative entertainment with elements of performance to involve attending crowds.
Using ash, oxides and ochres on black soil collected in the Gaansbaai mountains, Pompa Funebris suggests a disfigured view of the present South African political landscape – muddied by a tragic colonial history, the houses of parliament burned, the glitter of its gold dimmed, the blue of its seas blackened. Through the title I wanted to play on the pomp funeral costume dictated by this procession tradition, while invoking elements of colour and the triangle design from the South African flag.
The vertical lines on the twin canvas panels also echo the custom dictates of rich dress; in the robing of the ecclesiastic fashion, often a long garment wrapped over the chest and tied at the waist. Here the triangular centre of this three-piece flag reminds me of a robe collar, one side crossing over the other; while making further reference to the current South African flag in the black triangle converging in parallel black, green, white and red colour bands. I am interested in the robe quality of this work, and further attracted to the tension between garment and flag, body and land.
RESERVOIR will be participating in the 2023 Investec Cape Town Art Fair, showcasing work by:
Find us in the ALT section, at booth ALT2
ellievsbear
yousharknotpass
dailybridgerton
tangentwithtanner