PRESS RELEASE
BOEMO DIALE: The orange tree of Lemenong
Apr 4 – May 12, 2024
Everard Read Cape Town is pleased to present a new solo exhibition, 'The orange tree of Lemenong' by Boemo Diale
Under the orange tree
a citrus taste that’s hot sour.
In any terrain I’m wanting embrace, heat.
I’ve been wilting away, longing for the winter, a spring flower.
Peel an orange, sprinkle on golden shadow.
I’ve been living life, cold and narrow, not appreciating things with an
obvious foreshadow.
I am more than you think
Under a tree. Safe. No trouble.
Granny is coming with soap and a towel.
The butternut boils on the stove, dinner is coming.
The sun is setting, change is coming.
Uncle 2bop has left for a mission.
Please let me sit here, where the half-truths
begin diminution.
Under a tree. Safe. No trouble.
b. 2000 Johannesburg, South Africa
Boemo Diale is a multi-disciplinary artist who grew up navigating different racial and socio-political structures in Rustenburg and the suburbs of Johannesburg as a young mixed-race woman.
Diale’s visual narration takes on a dream-like articulation, as an exploration of identity, generational trauma, spirituality and desire, at times suspended between the rural and the urban, cultural inheritance and autonomy, symbolism and reality.
Caught within the confines of a vessel or pushed up against the borders of canvas or Fabriano, her voluptuous – often obsidian – bodies take turns resisting against and then complying with limitations both tangible and abstract. Their forms are set against iridescent primordial environments, tropical cutouts and vivid graffitied universes. Rather than being incongruent, Diale’s bright, playful layers of spray-paint, ink, pastel and acrylic signal an exploration of struggle, vulnerability and fierce questioning about her sense of place, impacted as it is by maternal relationships, community and global tropes. There is reclaimed power and agency in her bold palette and expression.
Opening reception: Thursday 4th April - 6pm
Artist walkabout: Saturday 6th April - 11am
CLICK HERE TO REQUEST A PORTFOLIO
INSTALLATION IMAGES BY MICHAEL HALL
