Mohau Modisakeng - South African pavillion - Passage - Biennial Venice 2017
Mohau Modisakeng (Johannesburg 1986) was born and grew up in Soweto, Johannesburg. He currently lives and works between Johannesburg and Cape Town. Modisakeng completed his undergraduate degree at the Michaelis School of Fine Art, Cape Town, in 2009.
The personal is political in Modisakeng’s work. Informed by his experience as a young boy in Soweto, at the crossroads of a violent political transition, Modisakeng uses memory as a portal between past and present to explore themes of history, body and place within the post-apartheid context. His photography, films, performance and installation grapple with the conflicting politics of leadership and nationhood, whilst also attempting to unpack the legacy of inequality, capital, labour and extraction of mineral wealth in contemporary South Africa.
Modisakeng uses a personal lexicon of ritual and symbolism in which his physical form becomes both a vessel and a signifier. His use of his own body is a significant shift away from the problematic depiction of the other and is a gesture of self-actualization and acknowledgment of subjective experience.
I loved the Venice Biennial and at first glance my favorite artist where traditional enough photographers, the South African Pavilion was also my favorite. Incredible which made an impact on my work. It will take a few weeks to fully digest the works that we seen, I absolutely loved Venice and will return in the future. A b
iennial in Venice - is like Disney Land for adult artists! an absolute must see!!!
