Everone's a critic. Spectacle in Cape Town
Posted: Wed Nov 19, 2014 1:29 pm
19 Nov 2014 The Times (South Africa)
SANDISO NGUBANE and ROXANNE HENDERSON
Artwork defaced by ‘artists’
A GROUP of underground art terrorists have struck twice this month in Cape Town, in protest at what they call “white supremacist corporatist art”. Their latest site of protest is artist Michael Elion’s Perceiving Freedom sculpture on the Sea Point promenade.
The mysterious Tokolos Stencil Collective vandalised the artwork with the words “myopic art”, “remember Marikana”, and “we broke your hearts” and claimed responsibility on their Facebook and Tumblr accounts yesterday. Earlier this month, the anonymous group of graffiti artists, from Bo-Kaap, defaced the Brundyn+ art gallery building with the words “bourgeoisie gallery”.
It also brought a portable toilet filled with faeces into the gallery’s exhibition space. (probably won first prize for artistic endeavor and will tour Europe later this year)
Justin Davy of Brundyn+ said yesterday the gallery had decided not to take action against the group as Tokolos had been invited to showcase its work at the gallery’s PLAKKERS exhibition.
But Elion, who says he fears for his safety amid the controversy surrounding his sculpture, says he is taking legal action against the vandals.
Elion’s work is meant to honour Nelson Mandela and is associated with the famous “A Prisoner in the Garden” photo of the former president, shot while he was still in prison on Robben Island and in which he is wearing a pair of sunglasses.
But the piece has been strongly criticised in art circles. Among the criticisms are that the glasses are an advertisement for Ray-Ban, one of Elion’s sponsors. Elion said that he had approached the brand for funding and that Ray-Ban had nothing to answer for.
