FLF26 Art Highlights

Democracy is not something we have and own, it is something we need to do continuously — participating, connecting, sharing responsibility and shaping community together. Since 1994, South Africa has faced profound social, political and economic challenges, but the country has remained resilient, sustained by civil society organisations, community-based movements, and media that continues to scrutinise power.The artworks gathered here operate as democracy at work. Organised around four themes – To belong, To protest, To care, and To be heard – these works challenge traditional visual systems, amplify marginalised voices and expand the landscape of our collective experience. They invite us not merely to observe, but to engage deeply in an effort to bridge South Africa’s historical divides. This book is an invaluable historical and cultural testament to thirty years of South African democracy, and the vibrant and varied art and voices that shaped it.

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Form, from the Latin forma, meaning shape. It means the inherent nature of an onject, that in which the essence of a thing costliest.  –ALI SMITH This publication is the first of its kind: a survey of contemporary clay from South Africa, pushed to its highest form of sculptural expression. This volume, through its exquisite photography and literary essays, showcases multiple generations of living South African artists, each innovating the potentialities of clay and ceramics. Clay Formes offers enthusiasts and collectors a glimpse into the studios of thirty important South African artists, born between 1941 and 1998, revealing the richness of both contemporary clay and ceramic tradition within South African art. This book is the fruit of countless conversations with each featured artist including Hylton Nel, Belinda Blignaut, Jabulile Nala, Ian Garrett, Andile Dyalvane, Katherine Glenday, Zizipho Poswa, Madoda Fani, Marlene Steyn, Hennie Meyer, Astrid Dahl, Chuma Maweni and Ruan Hoffmann amongst others. Clay has long been freed from the yoke of functionality. That is not to say that functionality is without beauty, but this publication sought to highlight all the things that clay can be when it is not functional. The word “forme”, borrowed from the French meaning “shape, form or object of art”. 

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The first monograph to present Roger Ballen's work in colour: a visual revelation that remains grounded in the chaotic, absurd psychological space of the Ballenesque. Having previously expressed no interest in colour photography, Roger Ballen was inspired to engage with the medium after receiving a Leica SL camera as a gift in 2016. Opening up to the potential of colour in his work, Ballen used light in creative ways, exploring new avenues of experimentation. Spirits and Spaces eloquently captures the absurd and bizarre world of Roger Ballen, where animals and Art Brut-like drawings dominate, and humanity is reduced to obscure figures or fragmented body parts. The new colour images in Spirits and Spaces, created in conjunction with Ballen’s artistic director, Marguerite Rossouw, were produced in a claustrophobic space, constructed of worn, wallpapered wooden panels and with minimalistic lighting. Here, in this dense, oppressive environment, Ballen creates what might be seen by many as a world that is unexplainable in words: one in which absurdity, chaos, comedy and tragedy apparently exist side by side. Both a visual revelation and an artistic evolution by one of contemporary photography's most unique voices, Spirits and Spaces is an essential and much anticipated photobook for all Roger Ballen fans.

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