The rear of the Turbine Hall in downtown town Johannesburg.
The building was re-purposed several years ago
and often hosts a variety of different events.
This weekend saw it welcome the Turbine Art Fair.
I was wondering why crowds were thronging
around what I thought were ordinary dresses.
Until I looked a little closer and I was stunned to see
that they were constructed out of cement.
As were the accessories.
A cement typewriter.
For someone who is “heavy handed”?
This life sized art work is peering at…
an artwork.
An inspired piece by Mziwoxolo Makalima.
This piece reminded me of how my wife covers herself in winter.
As an avid collector of bones,
this piece “spoke” to me.
The artist is Delene Human and it depicts death and resurrection.
There are ceramics on display (and for sale) in the foyer,
alongside the ticket queue.
Much of the work is bright and shiny
and several of the pieces are extremely colourful.
Emma Willemse from the Cape caught my attention.
Her materials were “housed” on these shelves,
made of bare brick and wood.
Set in a small alcove off one of the main passage ways,
it could not have asked for a better display space.
Her work was made of reclaimed parquet flooring and paper.
Using an egg timer, Emma changes her entire display every hour.
This means that all the works got to be shown.
Her work depict the loss of a house and the anxiety
and sadness that engenders
Are they an installation piece?
Or are they just chatting about what is on offer?
I did look to see if this was for sale…
Until it was pointed out to me that it was an actual part of the building.
Food wonderful food.
I did want a burger, but the queue turned out to be too long,
so I decided to have lamb curry instead…
A good choice as far as I was concerned.
Bat dog?
I would not laugh in the face of a Pit bull Terrier that was wearing this.
Part of the structure of the building,
that lends another dimension to the art works on display.
The afternoon light coming in through the window,
made this work look like it had been singled out.
People were taking pictures of the works on display
Or of each other…
Or of something “different” that had caught their attention.
These seem to have different flavours,
but no-one it seems was willing to try a “taste test”.
Live music in the coffee shop/bar on the first floor.
A great vibe with awesome music choices.
I suppose that if this was inside the Turbine Hall,
it could be an installation piece.
As it is outside, it is not.
I believe that the fair has been successfully run
for the past three years.
And I can certainly see why.
With art works on sale from as little as R650.00
to a maximum of R40000.00 there is something
to suit almost every budget.
There were some works that I wished I could afford,
like Walter Battis.
And some that I did not understand.
But art is subjective, and for that reason the
exhibition was VERY well attended.
And judging from the red (sold) stickers on many of the works,
it seems that once again the fair was successful
and may not be used without permission
