Rainbow Tunnels, 2020

From the perspective of viewer experience, Mokoena’s body of work mimics the mental experience of urban environments and modes of movement that are seemingly unstable, and the associated, unavoidable sense of claustrophobia and confusion. Density is a key formal feature of this body of work, and is visually achieved by both abstract and figurative elements, as well as technical decisions relating to colour and medium. Many of the works have been created on sheets of paper that were first screen-printed with a deep, dark blue, providing a dense field of colour on which to build. The use of drawing and the collage of both drawn and screen-printed elements allows Mokoena to layer vast amounts of information within each work. Each work within the exhibition presents a complex view of the transportation of people, and the lines along which they travel, are permitted to travel, or have access to.

A key recurring element is the illustration of a slave ship, turned space ship – a diagram showing how to pack as many people into a small space, logistically not dissimilar to packing people into a taxi to get the maximum fare. Mokoena’s visual language contains numerous and compound signifiers of people as bits of information in a system, defined by the data generated by their habits of consumption. Consumption, in turn, is dictated by systems of information and accessibility – where are people able to move, shop, live, and why? – which ultimately allows consumption-related data to be regarded as a high-value commodity.

Each work is an environment in itself, and the exhibition has been installed in a way that mimics the pandemonium of the city, with moments of peace breaking the tension throughout. Similarly, when moving through the city – or through life – one is ultimately navigating from one safe place to the next. Despite the pervading sense that personal agency is forfeited within all these layered systems, there is an upshot to chaos: if environments are in flux, it may possible to influence them in order to suit one’s needs for personal growth, regardless of issues of accessibility.

Text by Jacqueline Flint