Two local artists hope their art pieces, inspired by rocks and the strength of women, captivate audiences when they make their debut at the Investec Cape Town Art Fair later this month.
Green Point resident Rochelle Nembhard and Newlands resident Gemma Shepherd have collaborated and will be showcasing in the new ALT section at the art fair.
ALT is a new section dedicated to projects that reflect the many ways in which the art world had to adapt in response to the global shift from physical to virtual during the Covid-19 pandemic.
The event known as Africa’s largest contemporary art fair, provides a platform for more than 100 exhibitors to showcase their work. It will take place at the Cape Town International Convention Centre, from Friday 18 to Sunday 20 February. It will also be broadcast on the Artshell digital platform.
Focused on the theme of “Connect through Art from Africa and the World”, the fair, which is in its ninth year, aims to showcase undiscovered talent, especially from the African continent.
Nembhard and Shepherd created a body of photographic work titled “Genesis” in 2020 in the heart of the Covid-19 pandemic and during the level five lockdown. It explores the relationship between women and rocks.
Shepherd explains that “Genesis” was born out of the inner grappling, traumatic experiences they have both had as women. She says the work started long before the physical production of it through a series of individual deaths and rebirths.
Nembhard says: “This was during the pandemic and during a time when gender-based violence was at its peak. By coming together and connecting woman to woman we came to realise and honour the importance of going beyond our own individual experiences and leaning on one another to bear the weight – this work then became an opportunity for us to not only collaborate but to hold space for one another to heal.”
Shepherd explains the symbolism of the rocks.
“In 1956 there was the freedom song that says, ‘you strike a woman, you strike a rock’, but we turned that on its head and say when you strike a woman, you strike a woman, you do not strike a rock.”
Nembhard says they hope to drive the message that women and the earth should be honoured.
“If we do not honour the source of where we all were birthed in this universe then we can’t find any balance. We must honour nature, our first home. If we dishonour those two things then we can’t heal and move forward.”
The artists say their work led them to various spiritual sites throughout South Africa including the ancient stone circles in Nelspruit, the Drakensberg mountains, and the cradle of Humankind.
A task which proved difficult, explains Nembhard, as borders were closed due to the lockdown restrictions.
The pair says they are elated to partake in their first art fair exhibition.
Other local artists who will be exhibiting at the fair are Colijn Strydom, Gardens resident, Michaela Younge, Alex Coetzee and Daniel Malan from Sea Point and Luyanda Zindela from Woodstock.
The art fair is also bringing back the popular SOLO section, which features selected young and vibrant artists and dazzling new work. Other established sections making up the total experience include TOMORROWS/TODAY, curated by Nkule Mabaso and Luigi Fassi, which places emerging and under-represented artists in the public eye.
Laura Vincenti, Director of Investec Cape Town Art Fair, says the world of culture has shifted.
“The global pandemic has forced our experience of art to change and adapt and after an unusual social and emotional emptiness of two years due to the global lockdown, artists, exhibitors, their gallerists and dealers, but perhaps even more importantly, the art-loving public and collectors can look forward to an exhilarating experience once again.”
