Lines of de-Limitation
An Exhibition by Zyma Amien and Ingrid Bolton, curated by Pierre le Riche
The Gallery at Glen Carlou is proud to present LINES OF de-LIMITATION by Zyma Amien and Ingrid Bolton.
Amien and Bolton are both previous Sasol New Signatures competition winners, have been sharing a studio in Salt River, Cape Town, since the completion of their Master of Fine Arts degrees at the University of Cape Town’s Michaelis School of Fine Art.
Zyma Amien’s practice revolves around her concerns with labour issues in the garment and textile industry in South Africa, having first-hand experience with her grandmother and aunts working in said industry for decades. The nature of textile manufacture and production asks of the worker to remain in one position and at one station for the entire working day. The days lead to weeks, months and years, and the workers become trapped in doing repetitive work for their entire employed life. Over time, with low wages and tight production costs and schedules, it becomes difficult for them to escape this vicious cycle.
Amien tries to communicate this repetitive cycle through her choices in art-making; using labour-intensive techniques such as wood and lino-cutting, etching and excruciatingly detailed pointillism. This is further emphasized through the use of surfaces and materials such as dress-makers patterns, pins, sewing machines and textiles throughout the work.
Ingrid Bolton has a habit of looking at seemingly unrelated issues with an underlying environmental focus, and connect them either visually or metaphorically. At the point where the absorption of carbon dioxide takes place, between the atmosphere and the ocean, is the ecocline. Bolton first misinterpreted ecocline as ecoline, and this misinterpreted word became an important part of her artistic practice, as it speaks of a fragile boundary that humankind can be overstepping. Anthropogenic climate change is due in large part to the burning of fossil fuels like coal and oil. In this body of work, Bolton focuses on this line, using different compounds like coal, calcium carbonate and turmeric to activate her research and explorations.
The title of this collection, LINES OF de-LIMITATION, actively refers to the metaphorical presence of lines or limits in both bodies of work: whether referring to high levels of unemployment, or disastrous events due to climate change, the refracted line of heat resulting from protest fires and the warming of the globe can no longer be denied.
This exhibition focuses on these lines and makes them visual. The work, which is essentially a form of protest art, becomes quietly confrontational in this regard.
The exhibition will run until January 2019.
Collaboration: The Gallery @ Glen Carlou and 99 Loop Gallery
The foyer of The Gallery @ Glen Carlou hosts a collection of artwork by various South African artists in collaboration with 99 Loop Gallery. The art in this section will change every six to eight weeks featuring an array of artists.
The Gallery @ Glen Carlou is open seven days a week.
While here, join us for lunch at The Restaurant @ Glen Carlou or a tasting of our award-winning wines.