Moffat Takadiwa
Buhlebezwe Siwani
Mhlekazi, 2015
(Nonibe, Eastern Cape)
HD Video, 2:35 minutes
Charles Dickson
Stool of Knowledge, 1989 (reinvented 2006)
Cowry shells, tree stump, rare hardwood carved faces embed in chair, 24k gold inlay, Baltic Amber, leather, ivory inlay, cowry shells, turquoise and quartz crystal
36 x 48 x 48 in
91.5 x 122 x 122 cm
Charles Dickson
Spirit Dance, 1990
carved wood, cary shells, granite and marble and found objects
68.5 x 12 x 14 in
174 x 30.5 x 35.5 cm
Lavar Munroe
Institution of Captivity, 2015
acrylic, latex house paint, spray paint, fabric paint, pencil, string and staples on cut unprimed canvas
84 x 90 in
213 x 228 cm
Lavar Munroe
Institution of Captivity, 2015
(detail view)
Simphiwe Ndzube
The Purging (diptych), 2018
acrylic, collage, tape and spray paint on linen
78.75 x 138 in
200 x 350 cm
Simphiwe Ndzube
Untitled Portrait VI (The Gravediggers), 2018
synthetic hair, acrylic and spray paint on linen
78.75 x 59 in
200 x 150 cm
Umar Rashid (Frohawk Two Feathers)
(Actual Paradise) Play this at my funeral and my resurrection, 2018
paper collage, acrylic, and oil stick on panel
120 x 72 in
304.75 x 182.75 cm
Umar Rashid (Frohawk Two Feathers)
Pillar Talk, 2018
acrylic and mica flake on canvas
48 x 48 in
122 x 122 cm
Umar Rashid (Frohawk Two Feathers)
Voltron (as Jesus) saves the Second Line, 2018
acrylic and mica flake on canvas
48 x 48 in
122 x 122 cm
Umar Rashid (Frohawk Two Feathers)
The Waters of Flint, Source of All Things, 2018
acrylic and mica flake on canvas
72 x 72 in
182.75 x 182.75 cm
Moffat Takadiwa
The Urinari/Chinjausi, 2017
found computer keys and injection bottle tops
197 x 275 in
500 x 700 cm
Moffat Takadiwa
The Urinari/Chinjausi, 2017
(detail view)
Moffat Takadiwa
The Urinari/Chinjausi, 2017
(detail view)
Moffat Takadiwa
The Urinari/Chinjausi, 2017
(detail view)
Moffat Takadiwa
The Urinari/Chinjausi, 2017
(detail view)
Moffat Takadiwa
The Urinari/Chinjausi, 2017
(detail view)
Moffat Takadiwa
The Urinari/Chimbuzi, 2018
found computer keys and injection bottle tops
165.25 x 204.75 in
420 x 520 cm
Moffat Takadiwa
The Urinari/Chimbuzi, 2018
(detail view)
Moffat Takadiwa
The Urinari/Chimbuzi, 2018
(detail view)
Moffat Takadiwa
The Urinari/Chimbuzi, 2018
(detail view)
Moffat Takadiwa
Circumcised Tankers (c), 2018
found computer keys
37.5h x 27.5 x 23.5 in
95 x 70 x 60 cm
Moffat Takadiwa
Circumcised Tankers (c), 2018
(alternate view)
Moffat Takadiwa
Circumcised Tankers (c), 2018
(detail view)
Moffat Takadiwa
Circumcised Tankers (b), 2018
found computer keys
47.25 x 19.75 x 19.75 in
120 x 50 x 50 cm
Moffat Takadiwa
Circumcised Tankers (b), 2018
(alternate view)
Moffat Takadiwa
Circumcised Tankers (b), 2018
(detail view)
Moffat Takadiwa
Black Market, 2018
found computer keys
106.25 x 74.75 x 19.5 in
270 x 190 x 50 cm
Moffat Takadiwa
Black Market, 2018
(detail view)
“Well, actually, I’m a psychic being, and you know, we don’t concern ourselves with being born; we concern ourselves with being eternal; we deal with the spirit.” — Sun Ra
The Eye Sees Not Itself calls forth discourse on spiritualization of the materialistic and rationalistic world. In a hope to rediscover time and space for renewal, transcendence, and being eternal, the exhibition investigates how immateriality, mythology and fantasy fit in our postmodern world.
Artists all have to deal with physical materials, technology, bodies, empirical knowledge, socio-political events, and consumer society. How does the burden of materiality affect the artist’s own mind and psyche? What do artists do to transcend limitations of the material world and neutralize fear that is induced by violence, chaos, injustice and dark forces? In contemporary artistic practice, eclipsed by the Western canons where the intellectual sensibility is pervasively bent to favor rationalization, irony, appropriation, and materialism, is it possible to reserve a space for a greater sense of belonging and for emotional connections to each other and with nature?
The Eye Sees Not Itself arrives from conflicting encounters with the Eurocentric academy, burgeoning metropolitan cultures and spaces, and indigenous histories as forms and concepts, systems and processes, to approach the metaphysical context of artistic practice and production.
By Sydney Walters | In Nicodim Gallery’s latest exhibit The Eye Sees Not Itself, six artists weigh in on the discourse of the spiritual embodied in the material world. Showcasing a variety of mediums such as painting, installation and video art, the show analyzes the psyche that propels the artist to make sense of a space and time infused with Africana tradition and heritage....
Photographer Lani Trock covers the Los Angeles opening reception of The Eye Sees Not Itself for Autre.love....