Power and the City: Pat Mautloa explores the city in his new solo exhibition \u2018Urban Soundscapes – Crafting Spaces of Belonging\u2019 at the UJ Art Gallery.<\/b><\/p>\n
The UJ Art Gallery proudly presents Kagiso \u201cPat\u201d Mautloa\u2019s new solo exhibition, \u2018Urban Soundscapes \u2013 Crafting Spaces of Belonging\u2019,<\/i>\u00a0curated by UJ Art Gallery curator Thabo Seshoka. Set to open on 6 August and run till 30 October, \u2018Urban Soundscapes\u2019 is inspired by ordinary life in urban spaces explored through the lens of the socio-political.<\/p>\n
\u201cKagiso \u201cPat\u201d Mautloa, has the distinctive ability to capture and communicate the complexities of everyday life in urban spaces. Through his unique process of incorporating ordinary and discarded objects into his artworks thus, revitalising their sense of meaning, purpose, and existence. These objects, likened to the multiple figures that reside within the city, serve as inspirations for Mautloa\u2019s body of work, which interrogates the social issues that plague individuals within urban settings, and their ability to create or renew their senses of existence,\u201d says Thabo Seshoka, Curator UJ Art Gallery.<\/p>\n
Describing urban spaces as \u201cimagined temporal worlds that are engulfed by the socio-political\u201d [where] \u201ca multitude of people reside and where none originate from[1]\u201d [the curator, through Mautloa\u2019s lens] looks to \u201cthe shadowy figures that fuel the hustle and bustle of the city; an omnipotent machine, consumed by the notion of power and authority over others[2]\u201d. His interest lies in the \u201cbattle is waged amongst these shadowy figures\u201d who \u201coperate within a regulated structure, maintained, and guarded by \u2018official\u2019 and \u2018un-official\u2019 custodians, who have or continue to benefit from the old ways of order[3]. He explores their desire to question belonging and reluctance to relinquish their control of the city\u2019s machinery.<\/p>\n
Recognised as a pioneer of modernist painting in South Africa, Mautloa\u2019s central theme in his work is the study of life around him. Through his work he regularly visits these urban spaces in painting, drawing, sculpture, and printmaking. Drawn in bright colour and with texture, Mautloa makes innovative use of found objects \u2013 often discarded refuse found in these urban spaces \u2013 and abstract textures and mundane surfaces.<\/p>\n
Through a series of new works in various forms and mediums, this exhibition, offers Mautloa\u2019s audience a \u201cwell composed symphony of urban life\u201d, documenting the beats and rhythms of these imagined worlds and the figures that reside within them.<\/p>\n
\u201cComplimented by a curatorial process that was centred around unpacking the notions of identity, belonging and subjugation within urban spaces. This exhibition, and the selected artworks, this show explores how individuals create a sense of identity and belonging within the confines of unequal power relations, where some individuals benefit from their subjugation,\u201d concludes Seshoka.<\/p>\n
NOTES TO THE EDITOR<\/b><\/p>\n
About UJ Arts & Culture<\/b><\/p>\n
UJ Arts & Culture, a division of the Faculty of Art, Design & Architecture (FADA) produces and presents world-class student and professional arts programmes aligned to the UJ vision of an international university of choice, anchored in Africa, dynamically shaping the future. A robust range of arts platforms are offered on all four UJ campuses for students, staff, alumni and the general public to experience and engage with emerging and established Pan-African and international artists drawn from the full spectrum of the arts.<\/p>\n