Mary Sibande is one of the greatest artist that we have and I love how unique her work is. A Crescendo of Ecstasy is Mary’s solo exhibition at TMRW Gallery at Keyes Art Mile in Rosebank; the exhibition explores creation and colour. When you walk into TMRW Gallery, the first thing you see is a huge purple figure with cords coming out of her stomach and these purple creatures floating above the figure. The large purple figure is an unnamed woman that takes after “Sophie”, Mary’s previous alter ego that appeared a lot in her previous work; her being unnamed allows her to be absolutely anything that she wants to be. This figure is a mother whose numerous cords coming out of her connects her to the creatures hanging above her. The creatures have a strong resemblance to fetuses in the womb and floating sperm and they represent creation.
TMWR Gallery has married art with technology by bringing Virtual Reality into Mary’s exhibition. There are four Virtual Reality glasses that have Mary Sibande’s masked face in the front. As you move from each VR station you get to experience and be part of the art, through the VR glasses you get to see the purple creatures move towards and float around the woman because even though they are no longer attached to the cords, they are still connected to the woman. In creating the artwork Mary drew from her experience and life as a new mother. One of the Virtual Reality stations shows you Mary’s womb and in this womb you see the fetus (what I have been largely been referring to as the creature) moving in her womb. I just love how the Virtual Reality component makes the art come alive and allows us as art lovers to feel like we are the one with the process and the artist. I cannot wait for more galleries to incorporate technology like VR as part of the art consumption process.
Mary Sibande’s exhibition is still on at TMWR Gallery at Keyes Art Mile in Rosebank until the 29th of July 2018. You should go check it out, it’s super amazing.
Afrikan Princess 