Comedy has the last laugh
● Came for the art (loads of it, fashioned from wooden pegs, blue dice and ceramics to canvas and photographic paper) and stayed for the company (think a glam blast from the past, a fabulously chic collector set to give Shanghai a taste of African contemporary pics, and a sculptor exploring “the very subtle violences” we often exchange with each other).
Now in its 11th year, the Investec Cape Town Art Fair, which runs until 7pm tonight at the Cape Town International Convention Centre, prides itself as the largest event of its kind on the continent.
Before officially opening its doors, it held a preview on Thursday evening which proved to be a sensory feast for the artful and socially inclined — though a rather long wait for a glass of bubbly.
There was a chance to greet familiar faces such as art collector Caro Wiese (wife of Pepkor king Christo
Wiese) and artist Zanele Muholi, and also meet new ones like Jonathan Carver Moore, who runs the only black gay male-owned gallery in San Francisco, during a media tour earlier in the day. However, the sparkling highlight was the vernissage (private viewing) in the evening.
Outside in the hallway, Steven Cohen, draped in Clive Rundle with gargantuan footwear, was staging what I believe is called an orchestrated intervention (“presence is performance these days”, the visual artist tells me).
Walking through the doors of the exhibition centre, patrons were greeted by a fair first this year: an exhibition of ceramics titled Cabinet|Clay comprising sculptural works which mostly make you stop and think, such as Pilletjies by Frances Goodman (bringing a whole new meaning to “pill-popping”) and Soft Rejection in Pinks by Githan Coopoo, which comes in the form of a vase emblazoned with “Let’s Keep in Touch”, that phrase many of us are guilty of saying without meaning it.
“I wanted to look at the very intimate and indirect ways that we try to nullify connections with people,” Githan explained about the work.
On to meeting two curators from the Brooklyn Museum in New York. They are Ernestine White-Mifetu, formerly of Cape Town’s Iziko South African National Gallery, and Annissa Malvoisin.
“What’s exciting is the way in which Brooklyn, New York and American audiences have embraced and are appreciating African creativity,” says Ernestine about her new gig.
Meanwhile, Annissa, whose background is archaeology and ancient African art, shares that Ernestine has “opened me up to a whole new way of looking at art ... now I am making more connections between the past and the present”.
Through the crowd, whose preferred style is one bordering on the eccentric, appears a strikingly tall and unmistakable beauty I hadn’t set eyes on in close to a decade.
Those with long memories will remember Michelle McLean as the first Namibian woman to wear the Miss Universe crown back in 1992. These days the 1.83m blonde is based in Miami where, as part of the Namibia Investment Promotions Development Board, she promotes investment and tourism in her home country.
“I promote a lot of great things about Southern Africa in the US on various platforms,” Michelle explains, adding that she has a few other projects under her belt, including a Namibian green hydrogen project. On to catching up with someone else doing her bit in waving the African flag — only this time in the world’s second-biggest economy. I first met Linda Wong Davies a couple of years ago at this very fair, and true to form the super-rich philanthropist and art patron, with an entourage including dishy photographer Justin Dingwall, was busily placing red dots on the art she was snapping up.
Linda, who threw an “Enter the Dragon” party at her Cape Town mansion to see in the Chinese New Year a few days earlier, tells me that through her KT Wong Foundation she will be putting on “the largest contemporary African photographic show” in China’s biggest city come September.
You’ll want to know about the art, and while I was way too busy socialising to do enough art viewing, I stole a few moments to be enthralled by the new works by Patrick Bongoy and Usha Seejarim in the Southern Guild booth, and my breath was taken away by Bugu Ogisi’s photographic work as displayed in the Benin-based Borna Goglo Gallery stand.
And with the fair run by Milan-based Fiera Milano (who are able to draw from
their extensive phone book to attract buyers far and wide), no surprise that traditional Italian fare such as risotto zafferano, meatballs and caprese salad was on the menu at the collector’s dinner afterwards at Green Point’s The Strangers Club.
Mind you, if you fancy a bit more flavour, look no further than the menu at the global premiere of LOL: Last One Laughing South Africa, the Prime Video locally produced series fronted by Trevor Noah, which took place on Monday evening at The Galleria, a function venue in Eastgate (not the shopping centre but the suburb) in Joburg.
There was a “build your own kota” section and a boerie roll bar, while those with a sweet tooth could indulge in koesister and boeber flavours from the soft-serve ice-cream machine. I, though, avoided the blue welcome drinks, a nod to the branding of the American streaming service.
The Rapid Blue-produced show has a novel premise: 10 entertainers are put in a house and need to keep a straight face while doing their bit to make their fellow castmates crack up.
With a line-up brimming with some of the funniest folk in the land such as Tumi Morake, Celeste Ntuli, Robby Collins, Jason Goliath, Mojak Lehoko and Glen Biderman-Pam, that’s no easy feat. Throw in off-the-wall characters like Lasizwe and
Moonchild Sanelly and broadcaster cum actress Thando Thabethe on a mission to prank things up, and it’s a tough task not to break out a smile.
While Trevor and cast member Nomzamo Mbatha couldn’t make it to the screening, I was thrilled that Tumi, who these days splits her time between here and the US, did show up.
We watched the first two episodes in the six-part series, and if comedy is your poison you’re going to be rolling on the floor. However, no matter how many viewers lap up the series, there’s slim chance it will be renewed.
The Amazon-owned subscription service recently shook the local entertainment industry with the announcement that they’re canning African-produced content and retrenching staff here.
Sadly, that’s no laughing matter.