Performance art might not be everyone’s cup of tea, but when it’s good, it makes a statement.
On a plinth in the gallery an artist struggles into a cocoon from hand-spun wool. For the rest of the duration of the performance, her swaddled body lies motionless; a ‘living object.” Finally, she liberates herself, leaving behind the crocheted ‘relic”. This is the performances viewers can expect at the opening of Johannesburg-based artist Lerato Shadi’s new exhibition. For Shadi, performance has nothing to do with the swift catharsis achieved through acting out. Instead, it involves a smart, subtle deconstruction of the numerous dichotomies – between flesh and fabric, art and craft, soft and hard, life and death – that govern creation.
The live performance will take place on opening night, April 14 at 6pm, only. For the remainder of the show, until May 21, visitors can view Shadi’s video works. Michael Stevenson Gallery, Ground floor, Buchanan Building, 160 Sir Lowry Road, Woodstock, Cape Town.