Artists give icons new life
KRUGERRAND WITNESS EXHIBITION: EACH HAS A YEAR AND THEME TO INTERPRET
Exhibition also aims to show the Krugerrand’s impact on the coin world.
When business and artists work together the art world remains unthreatened, but that doesn’t mean corporate commissions should only be focused on mass-produced pieces. It’s equally important for solo artists to get their share of the abundance of cash these contributors pump into the industry.
The Joburg Art Fair 2017 again showed the distinct relationship between the two. If you visited this year, the Krugerrand Witness exhibition might have caught your eye. The exhibition brought together six modern and contemporary South African artists whose work was shown earlier this year at the World Money Fair in Berlin to commemorate Krugerrands’ semi-centennial.
Each artist was given a year and theme over the last 50 years to bring to life. These included the first successful heart transplant, the fall of the Berlin Wall and the discovery of Homo Naledi. The exhibition also aimed to show the Krugerrand’s impact on the coin world, not just in terms of investment but its distinct place in world consciousness.
The Krugerrand is considered the world’s most widely traded bullion gold coin and there’s over 60 million pieces in circulation. In 2016, more than 1.1 million ounces of gold bullion Krugerrands worth US$1.3 billion (R17bn) were sold, giving the Krugerrand over 26% market share of the global gold bullion coin market.
It’s no wonder then that artists like Robyn Pretorius, Sindiso Nyoni, Mark Rautenbach, Lwandiso Njara, Nina Torr and Anton Karstel were called to enhance the 50year anniversary celebration of a major event like the FNB Joburg Art Fair.
Karstel, recreated the miracle moment on canvas, 50 years ago in 1967 when Dr Christiaan Barnard performed the world’s first heart transplant. The painting, which is strongly monochromatic, carries the weight of the event dramatised on the patient’s face.
Cape Town-based Robyn Pretorius interpreted Mohammad Ali in her work, Rumble in the Jungle.
It’s the most widely traded bullion gold coin.
Celebrating his 1974 comeback match against George Foreman, the artist creates a portrait of the young Ali filled with hope and possibility. “But I included the story of his life, something I always do. I didn’t just want to recreate his image, especially someone that is so revered.”
A fascinating piece came from Mark Rautenbach, whose theme was the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989. Rautenbach shredded a copy of a photo of the piece of the wall that is on display in Cape Town and knitted them into the shape of the piece of wall given to the Mother City. The fragility of the piece and its immersive-ness is striking.
Torr’s fine rendering of Dolly the sheep shows the mammal in a bell jar in homage to her scientific journey. The shooting eyes are an all-eyes-on-me allegory as Dolly’s short life catapults the human race onto the cusp of science fiction.
Closer to home, Lwandiso Njara renders Homo Naledi as a stark skull with hints of surrealism.
Completing the catalogue of works is design star Sindiso Nyoni’s illustrative take on Usain Bolt aka “Lightning Bolt”, the fastest man on earth. This piece also invites you to reflect on the coin’s pace, faltering during the sanctions to its barrelling sprint to the top.
“The exhibition brings together works by renowned South African artists and highlights the pioneering spirit of human empathy, endeavour and endurance, also synonymous with the Krugerrand,” says Tumi Tsehlo, managing director of the South African Mint.
The original drawings for the Krugerrand design by artist Coert Steynberg will also be on display alongside the Witness collection. The artist, originally from Bethal, finished art school in Grahamstown and moved to the UK to study under Henry Moore before completing a Bartolomeu Dias sculpture for South African House in London. On his return to SA, he was commissioned by the SA Mint in 1947 to create the crown piece, the dancing springbok, the design that is still used for the Krugerrand.
The Witness campaign collection and the Coert Steynberg drawings will be on permanent display at the SA Mint after the 2017 FNB Joburg Art Fair.