Alex Appolis and a work from A Neo-Arcadian Tale: BLACK Pan in South Africa’s Pastoral Romance, on at the Wits Art Museum. (Photos by Zanele S. Maduma)
Alexander Appolis sounds like a name one would find among historical figures in art history books. It has that “ring to it”.
I was given a brief history lesson when I shared this impression with Alex himself.
“I found out that Appolis is a slave name as slave owners would give slaves classical names like Apollo or Zeus,” he said.
The 31-year-old artist says he fell in and out of love with art until he discovered the powerful potential of fine arts through Mmakgabo Helen Sebidi’s art in high school. It was the raw energy of her work that inspired him.
As you descend the stairs into the basement from the ground floor of the Wits Art Museum, on the left-hand wall it reads: Alexander Appolis: A Neo-Arcadian Tale: BLACK Pan in South Africa’s Pastoral Romance. Even as an art enthusiast or a curious visitor, this title is quite a mouthful and cause for a pause to think.
Alex, as he prefers to be called, who grew up in Kensington, Joburg, is a PhD candidate in Creative Work and Research at Wits University.
He employs complexity and ambiguity in his paintings, drawings and installations. The complexity and ambiguous nature of art leaves a lot for the imagination in a spectator. It often leaves one dissociating with the painting in front of one even if the subject is a familiar one.
Part of the inspiration for his artwork comes from having studied the early colonial period, when the first English travellers settled in the Cape.
“I spent a lot of time trying to simplify it,” says Appolis. “I would say that what people must take out is the pastoral and romance.
“I think I can draw people in. Pan and the Arcadia comes from a conceptual framework that I developed. Very complex. It’s over two millennia.
“Usually with art exhibitions, you want to play with the title. You want to draw people in. But I felt like the work was already very ambiguous.
“So, I thought it was interesting to use this type of titling, which is normally reserved for museum shows where it’s more educational. It’s about a survey of a certain work.”
Appolis says people have to understand that it’s about finding pieces that you can attach yourself to.
“I think people have this idea that, when they come into the gallery, into a museum, they need to understand everything that’s happening, every reference. That’s why I work with colour. It’s about feeling the work.”
Colour is a dominating element in his paintings — the rich vibrant colours draw you in.
“The colours are taken from colour swatches. I started categorising and came across Imperial Lights and Colonial Dream. So, with all the paintings, I use those colours as a starting point.”
On one of the walls hang three large, colourful paintings, one next to the other. The one on the left seems red, the one in the middle is a burst of violet while the painting on the right is sombre. It is the painting in the middle that stands out because of the vibrancy of its colour.
“For the first one, I used the colour Sunset Serenade. The purple one is Midnight Rendezvous and then the last one is Black as Night.”
Paintings and drawings are sometimes best understood as a series.
“I would usually work in sets in diptychs and triptychs. A triptych is three paintings or three objects lined up. I wanted to create a constant landscape. So it moves from one to the other and to the other. Even though it doesn’t look like it’s one, you read it as one.”
Appolis creates a visual dialogue that bridges past and present, urging viewers to reflect on how space and race continue to interconnect in shaping South Africa’s social fabric.
Part of the inspiration for this artwork comes from having studied the early colonial period, when the first English travellers settled in the Cape.
Appolis also draws inspiration for his paintings from his personal experiences with racial ambiguity as a coloured boy in Jeppe High School for Boys more than decade ago.
Hidden figures or cryptic visions lurk within vines, twisted roots and mountains, inviting viewers to look closer and uncover stories of struggle encoded in enigmatic forms. His use of natural elements — gnarled trees and flowing rivers — grounds his work in South Africa’s landscapes.
“And then I kind of hide figures in each work, and then the title — you usually have to read the title in relation to the work, because it gives you a clue as to what is in the piece.”
By mapping these themes onto canvas, Appolis creates a visual dialogue that bridges past and present, urging viewers to reflect on how space and race continue to interconnect in shaping South Africa’s social fabric.
One can say that his exhibition is a powerful platform for dialogue, intellectually provocative and a testament to his skill in transforming landscapes into stories.
“I’m still trying to learn how to talk in a way that’s accessible to everyone because the work is very academic.
“The research is very academic and it touches on art history, psychology, landscape design, politics, everything, a whole society and every bit of it.
“So it’s been hard to talk, trying to isolate things and talk about it in a way that’s accessible to everyone. I hope I got something across that people were able to pick something.”
A Neo-Arcadian Tale: BLACK Pan in South Africa’s Pastoral Romance is on at the Wits Art Museum until 5 July.