Reflecting on Africa’s past
Body of work investigates interpretations of colonisation
AFTER creating a body of work with more than 50 pieces, respected contemporary artist Christiaan Diedericks spoke about his latest exhibition, In search of a new King, that will be on at Joburg’s Melrose Gallery until June 9, the state of contemporary art in South Africa, his feelings on it, the exhibition, and the relationship between the arts and ordinary South Africans.
The title of the exhibition is poignant. Tell me how it came about?
Music is my daily companion and an inspiration in my studio, I cannot work without listening to music. In doing so and loving the music of both Ismael Lo and Marianne Faithfull, the song Without Blame by these two artists borrowed the title for my upcoming solo exhibition In search of a new King.
Over the past few years I became acutely aware that since the colonialists arrived in South Africa, our country battled with proper leadership on various levels. We have experienced as a nation slavery, colonisation, by not only the British, then the horrific years of apartheid followed, and, after becoming a democracy in 1994, we are dealing with unfathomable corruption by our current government and the grim reality of xenophobia. Crime and racism is out of hand. All people are free and have equal rights, but did anything really change for the poor? We have been without a good, fair, honest “king” (or queen) for far to long.
We seem to still battle poverty, racism, inequality and hence, in my opinion, we have no alternative but to “search for a new king” (or queen). Madiba could have been exactly that, had he not been in prison for 27 years. I personally believe the Truth and Reconciliation Commission was a mere band-aid on an open wound and people are currently more angry than before.
I then started reading, I myself went “in search of a new king”. I researched the actual history of our continent, not the one-sided nonsense we were fed in school during the apartheid years, and discovered many truly amazing facts, such as the commonly peddled myth that exists in the minds of most – that being the one relating to the primitive and savage Africa that the colonising Europeans “discovered”, civilised and then developed. But the truth is that large portions of Africa were not that far behind Europe at the time Europeans began arriving. with this question, how did this influence your work?
Just a thought before I answer this question: this body of work comes from a very true and honest place – my journey was rather difficult and challenging but hugely rewarding. I rid myself of so much (white) guilt, opened my heart and grew at the speed of light.
After recently deciphering colonialism and neocolonialism by the French author Jean-paul Sartre (a complex text), I felt compelled to investigate and visually comment on the terrible legacy of colonialism and post-colonialism in my latest body of work. By doing so, I have come to the unfortunate realisation that many white South Africans do not want to be confronted by and/or engage in any honest debate about colonialism and/or apartheid. The most common answer simply seems to be: “It is not my fault, I am not to blame. It was my forefathers.” This angers me. I believe we all have a collective responsibility for the past, present and future. The song Without Blame, the spark for the exhibition title, is therefore even more poignant in this context.
Furthermore, as a meta-narrative in my work, and since I almost always interlace more than one narrative in my work, In search of a new King also investigates other, more contemporary understandings/interpretations of colonisation as such.
You worked with Melissa Goba on curating the exhibition. What was that experience like?
We are only chatting at this point and she is still in the process of writing her curatorial essay for the catalogue and planning the curation of my exhibition. However, although busy, Mel is friendly, approachable and hugely private just like me, I like that. I believe her curatorial strategy will spark new debates and fresh valid points of entry to the reading of my conceptual intent for In search of a new King.
For people who wouldn’t go to a gallery to experience this work, what could you say to them by way of encouraging them to see it?
Art undoubtedly influences society by changing opinions, instilling values and translating experiences across space and time. Research has shown art affects the fundamental sense of self. Painting, sculpture, music, literature and the other arts are often considered to be the repository of a society’s collective memory and purpose.
Lastly, a civilisation is a complex culture in which large numbers of human beings share a number of common elements.
■ In search of a new King will show at the Melrose Gallery, 10 High Street, until June 9.