CUBICLE Series January 2021

Cubicle is an ongoing platform at CIRCA Cape Town, giving artists scope to exhibit smaller bodies of artworks and site-specific installations for a two week period.

Featuring:
RICKY BURNETT | ARCHIPELAGO

BOYCE MAGANDELA | THE CATASTROPHIC TIME

JACKI MCINNES | MONEY TALKS

SITAARA STODEL | OPEN HOUSE

MIA THOM | ATTUNE

HELENA UAMBEMBE | HOW TO MAKE MUD CAKE

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RICKY BURNETT ARCHIPELAGO

“If paintings seek presence and presence implies character and character suggests person, then who, I wonder, is this crop of little islands?“ - Ricky Burnett

Ricky Burnett was born in Birmingham, UK, in 1949, and moved to South Africa at the age of six. He attended Wits University, where he studied Medicine before switching to a BA degree. In 1972, he met Bill Ainslee and within a year he was making art objects. Almost simultaneously, he started to teach – and found an aptitude and passion for teaching that remains with him today. His talent for curating also emerged soon afterwards.

BOYCE MAGANDELA THE CATASTROPHIC TIME

Magandela Boyce was born in Langa, Cape Town, and studied art at the Community Arts Project in 2002. After exhibiting locally and internationally, Magandela was in 2005 an ABSA l’Atelier Award top ten finalist and, in 2006, a Brett Kebble Award finalist.

This body of work centres on Magandela’s frustrations with contemporary society. “I believe, “he explains, “that as a community member, father and a friend I cannot ignore this new way of living under the pandemic and political uncertainly which I see around myself.” Magandela’s delicate painted surfaces depict these hard catastrophic times, so that the next generation can learn and understand what happened in 2020/2021.

JACKI MCINNES MONEY TALKS

Jacki McInnes was born 1966 in Durban, South Africa. She has practised variously as an artist, arts writer and curator since obtaining her BAFA (with distinction) from UNISA in 2001. She won the UNISA Fine Art Faculty Medal in the same year and went on to complete an MFA at the Michaelis School of Fine Art in 2004. McInnes is currently a PhD candidate (Creative Research) at the Wits School of the Arts

These collages are made up of decommissioned South African bank notes that have been shredded for disposal by the South African Reserve Bank. Each readily recognisable symbol in this series speaks to our country’s current economic circumstances but also to our resilience as a country. Much of this work was made just before and during the Covid-19 lockdown (April/May 2020) and reflects the fragility of our lives, our livelihoods, our battling economy and our social cohesion.

The works also probe notions of waste, discard and worthlessness, but also of commodification, value and desire.

SITAARA STODEL OPEN HOUSE

Sitaara Stodel was born in Cape Town. In 2014 she graduated from the Michaelis School of Fine Art. In 2015, she was awarded the Tierney Fellowship. Stodel is currently a technical officer at the Photography Department at the Michaelis School of Fine Art.  Stodel was been awarded the Cecil Skotnes Scholarship from Michaelis (2014) as well as a Scholarship from the Centre for Curating the Archive (2014).

Stodel’s works are composed primarily of the fragmented image. Stodel, whose younger years involved a great deal of moving from house to house, is largely concerned with place-making, memory, and the futility of pursuing the dream home or perfect domestic space. Using collage, video, and assemblage, Stodel’s exploration of these themes sees her creating intricately layered abstract interpretations of the residential neighbourhood. 

MIA THOM ATTUNE

Mia Thom (b. 1995) is an interdisciplinary artist based in Cape Town. In 2017, she graduated from the Michaelis School of Fine Art with a BAFA (Hons) with distinction. Her practice centres on sound, installation, photography and performance.

Attune comprises an empty double bass and harp case emitting the voices of their lost instruments. Thom’s work is informed by researchers who recognise the ways in which sound can alter the perspectives we hold of objects, spaces and experiences. These two found objects have been modified as functional speakers, which broadcast an original score by composer Mikhaila Alyssa Smith. The musical piece, which explores extended technique as well as the acoustic properties of the cases themselves, was written in response to the objects and their specific resonant frequencies.

ORIGINAL COMPOSITION: MIKHAILA SMITH

DOUBLE BASSIST: MARIECHEN MEYER

HARPIST: JANA VAN DER WALT

HELENA UAMBEMBE HOW TO MAKE MUD CAKE

Helena Uambembe was born in Pomfret, South Africa, in 1994 to Angolan parents who fled the civil war. Her father was a soldier in the 32 Battalion, a military unit within the South African Defence Force made up primarily of black Angolan men. The 32 Battalion, Pomfret and her Angolan heritage are dominant themes in Uambembe’s work, in which she explores narratives surrounding history and place, interweaving connected symbols and archival material.

The ‘recipe’ for this work was created in collaboration with the children of Pomfret. “Your cake should look good,” Uambembe instructs, “to hide all the imperfections and traumas that come with the life of Pomfret.”

Uambembe was one of the Bag Factory’s three 2019 David Koloane Award winners. In addition to her own practice, Uambembe is a member of the collective Kutala Chopeto, alongside partner Teresa Kutala Firmino.