Satirical depictions of the “failed” African state are de rigueur these days with everyone from artists Kudzanai Chiurai and Anton Kannemeyer to Motswako hip-hop MC HHP and Nando’s filling our mediascape with so-called Chic Afrique spectacles of decadence, violence and corruption.
At first glance Cameron Platter’s new exhibition of drawings, titled Fucking Hell, seems to conform to the trend with a press release promising everything from “Chicken Licken” and “military history” to “CNN, Isandlwana, the Arab Spring, gospel singers, ATMs, Wolf Blitzer and political sloganeering”. What sets Platter’s work apart, however, is his distinct aesthetic, non-conformist approach and wonderful humour.
Whatiftheworld, 1 Argyle Street, Woodstock, until January 28. Tel: 021 802 3111. Website: www.whatiftheworld.com.