Colbert Mashile
February 22 – March 21, 2007
David Krut Projects, in association with Gallery on the Square, Johannesburg, is pleased to present the first solo US exhibition featuring recent paintings by South African contemporary artist, Colbert Mashile. The exhibition will be on view from February 22 through March 21, 2007. An opening reception will be held Thursday February 22 from 6-8pm. Gallery hours are Tuesday through Saturday 10am to 6pm.
“I come from a place that is shrouded by powerful cultural norms and customs. At the age of 10 I had to undergo initiation rituals with my peers of the same age… My immediate response to the horror and trauma of the event was suppressed until a later stage when I realized that I had difficulty in looking at gaping wounds of injured people, especially the wounds that were inflicted for ceremonial purposes. I then realized how traumatized I was. I decided to heal myself by dealing with these experiences in my artworks whereby I try to use psychological images which I feel comfortable with in an attempt to replace horrific scenes, sights and sounds of the initiation ritual. The work depicts shadowy images deriving from the emotional experiences of initiation… I try to be as truthful as possible such as in the use of earthy colors and jagged edges… The work is attempting to understand a lingering perception widely acknowledged in my culture about the secretive ritual of initiation. I try to question, and at times justify the ritual’s attempt to continuously reposition the shifting male ego in our modern society.”
Colbert Mashile was a recipient of South Africa’s Brett Kebble Award in 2005. His work was selected to be included in the Musee des Arts Demiers in Paris and he, among others represented South Africa at DakArts in 2006.
For more information, please email [email protected].