To be an artist – and assume this title – has very little to do with the progression or recognition of one’s work by an audience. Like many embodied identities, these aspects of Self were always there; and even when not yet realised in waking consciousness, these aspects of who we are exist as the subtle intentionality with which we move through our own lives. We just need to take up this mantle within ourselves.
Githan has been making art for many years; his career as a jewellery designer is inextricably linked to notions of art; using dry-clay to create cracked or shaped forms with embossed prints drenched in vivid colours that are akin to precious objects. Being an artist is deeply woven into the fabric of who Githan is – and moving into the process of sculpting from his initial inquiry into adornment (jewellery) to the idea of larger vessels feels like a natural progression. This can be seen with the vases in his first solo exhibition “Structural Integrity” at the new Norval Foundation X Boschendal manor house, and most recently in the Everard Read Gallery’s CUBICLE showcase featuring a series of sculpted handbags reminiscent of the micro Hérmes Kelly – this show aptly named “The Luxury of Wearing Fakes”.
“For my first show, Structural Integrity, I had the incredible privilege of opening opposite Zanele Muholi’s edition of Somnyama Ngonyama – especially because I have hung two of their series (another part of Sonyama Ngonyama and the Faces and Phrases series) in my time in the curatorial department at Zeitz Mocca. It was incredibly special to find myself in their presence again but in a very different capacity.” Githan states in our conversation. I am intrigued by this full-circle moment, and the idea that artists exist together in varying phases of the outward, physical feats of their career – unknowingly holding each other in bringing their expression into form.
Read the full interview here: https://mg.co.za/special-reports/2021-09-16-art-for-the-arch-celebrating-archbishop-tutus-90th-birthday-with-a-good-cause/
