Association for Visual Arts

On Exhibition

• ‘Baking Stories in the Sun’ by Staša Hlava & Christel Liebenberg’ -

  ‘Baking Stories in the Sun’ by Staša Hlava & Christel Liebenberg’

  Baking Stories in the Sun is a collaborative exploration of the intersections between Staša Hlava and Christel Liebenberg's ideas and practices. This exhibition experiments with the fluidity of artistic expression and the dynamic process of narrative construction, showcasing how the dialogue between two artists can manifest as objects and stories. Their collaboration centres on dialogic creation—a continuous exchange of thoughts, critiques, and inspirations that propel their works into new realms.
  
  By reflecting on the ambiguity and complexity of everyday life, they imagine possible future worlds and new possibilities, embracing the chaos and beauty inherent in the modern human experience.
  

• ‘Liminal Spaces and Guardian Spirits’ by Jill Joubert and Bridget Simons -

  ‘Liminal Spaces and Guardian Spirits’ by Jill Joubert and Bridget Simons

  Jill Joubert's artistic practice is deeply rooted in her fascination with fairy tales, creation stories, and cross-cultural mythologies. Joubert has continued to explore these themes through her puppet plays, which feature figurative sculptures in otherworldly forms, often with moving, jointed parts.
  
  Joubert's sculptures are conceived using found materials, whose shapes suggest the transformed characters they will become. Formed from wood, bone, beads, bits of fur, metal, and other discarded objects, these hybrid wooden figures evoke spirit beings that exist in a liminal space, part human, part animal, and often with androgynous sexualities. Re-fashioned from once seemingly dead and discarded materials, Joubert’s spirit figures symbolise a longing for hope and delight in a chaotic and turbulent world.
  
  In the body of work presented at the AVA, Bridget Simons explores the liminal spaces of daydreaming, taking particular interest in the emotional complexities inherent in the process of navigating them. The sea, a quintessential liminal space, becomes a central theme in her work, referencing migration and the current refugee crisis. The in-betweenness of the stateless subject is of particular interest to the artist, who reflects on how life today feels like a frighteningly liminal space. At the same time, her exhibition points the viewer to the idea that liminal spaces may often herald positive growth.

• ‘Unbinding Histories’ Group Exhibition curated by Cagla Demirbas -

  ‘Unbinding Histories’ Group Exhibition curated by Cagla Demirbas

  Artists: Alejandra Arévalo, Cagla Demirbas, Francesca Hummler, Maike Bergold, Phuong Hoang, Ronja Falkenbach, Verónica Losantos
  
  Unbinding Histories is a group exhibition featuring the works of seven international women photographers. Coinciding with Woman’s Month in South Africa, their works speak of nebulous territories that make up the human experience from a female lens. The mezzanine floor fundamentally presents the perfect analogy for the nuances inherently rooted in the narratives of this new generation of female photographers.
  
  The seven artists met in July 2022 when they attended the Studio Vortex residency in Arles, France led by Antoine d’Agata of Magnum Photos. The exhibition chronicles the transformative journey their work has gone through in the following two years, exploring stories that exist between the boundaries of continents, countries, cultures, and even timelines. These stories, clustering around gender, identity, heritage, history, and their intersection, ultimately point out a very human desire for fiction, even if the said fiction is found within us.
  
  

• ‘Kudala ndilapha’ by Mthetho Sono -

  ‘Kudala ndilapha’ by Mthetho Sono

  Mthetho Sono is a Cape Town Johannesburg-based visual artist, he studied Fine Art at UCT’s Michaelis School of Fine Art. His work covers themes of the human condition, spirituality, and personal stories, often exploring mental landscapes and emotional journeys.
  
  Mthetho’s exhibition with the AVA combines two bodies of work. Both explore the human condition and the psychological spaces we find ourselves in.
  
  The exhibitions are on display from 22 August to 03 October 2024.