Nel
www.nelart.co.za
“I attempt to draw from memory, similar to how I drew from memory as a child. I would try and remember the details that make up something, the aim was not to depict reality but to recreate reality and use memory as the source of reference. Even when using a reference, I attempt to recreate the image as if the reference is not in front of me as if I am recollecting the figure I saw. I guess I am trying to tap into my childhood way of figuring my world.”
A young artist who first came to prominence in the field of photography, Luxolo Witvoet paints the ordinary people that fill his world. The people whose faces he remembers, people in everyday life, faces of Jazz singers he listens to, images he saw in old family albums, faces that are conjured in his imagination. By combining the memory of them with the iconic Drum logo, he takes his everyday man and elevates them to the level of celebrity. Paying homage to the community that informed his formative years, and the publication that left an indelible mark on the consciousness of the township community that the artist himself is a part of, Echoes of my mind continues the cycle of upliftment, and stands in respect to the magazine that contributed to the fight for human recognition.
“DRUM was the only respectable outlet of visibility for my community. They were portrayed with the utmost integrity. I am paying homage to Drum magazine’s contribution to the fight for human recognition. This magazine shaped the culture and heritage of urban township life. And that tradition would be the very same one I would stem from, where my mother was born, and it would shape me to be the person I am today. It was the only source of media during my grandmother’s youth, and she is a part of the very first township dwellers. In the township, we have what is called a repetitive cycle. It has been going on”
This body of work is a celebration of ordinary people like mothers, children, initiates, musicians, schoolgirls, old people, youngsters, fathers, and folk who go about their business in unassuming ways. Luxolo Witvoet makes them the true stars that form real society.
Saturday 11th June, from 11am, Artist Walkabout with Luxolo Witvoet for his latest exhibition Echoes of my mind. You are invited to participate as the artists unpacks the ideas and themes explored within their works.
Please note that we follow COVID 19 protocols. Wear a mask, Sanitize your hands upon entering the gallery and practice Social Distancing.
The exhibition is on until 30 June 2022
Nel
117 Long Street, 8001, Cape Town
