Foreign exchange, or Forex, typifies the interconnectedness of global networks of information. This project series uses Forex as a metaphor for an exchange of artistic ideas with a world beyond Africa.
Themes prevalent in South African art - history, politics, marginality and, more broadly, the human condition - appear to differ starkly from the dominant concerns of international contemporary art. Looking at Europe and the United States (still the heart of the art world, despite its internationalisation) from elsewhere, it can be difficult to relate to the coldness, cynicism and self-referential nature of much of the work and the surrounding debates. As a result, it is tempting to retreat into an oppositional stance, one that pits concerns of the periphery against those of the centre, the outsider against the system.
The system, however, is kaleidoscopic in nature. When we start looking carefully, we see glimpses of ourselves in the little pieces of coloured glass that make up the larger pattern. Artists (and curators) exist whose concerns parallel our own, and who are operating within the museums, galleries, art fairs and biennales that make up the mainstream art world. By bringing minds like these to South Africa, the FOREX series aims to seek out affinities, illustrate shared frames of reference and explore intellectual kinship.
FOREX builds on the increasingly international nature of Stevenson's programming. Initially conceived to run for a year, the series has become an integral part of our programming and FOREX exhibitions continue to be held at the Cape Town gallery as opportunities arise and resonances are suggested. FOREX exhibitions - upcoming and previous - are listed below.
28 July - 27 August 2011
KEREN CYTTER The Hottest Day
1 March - 9 April 2011
RINEKE DIJKSTRA Ruth Drawing Picasso
21 October - 27 November 2010
EIJA-LIISA AHTILA Fishermen (Études no 1)
9 September - 16 October 2010
DJ SPOOKY Kino-Glaz
29 July - 4 September 2010
DOMINIQUE GONZALEZ-FOERSTER Noreturn
3 June - 24 July 2010
THIS IS OUR TIME
22 April - 29 May 2010
GLENN LIGON Neither Here nor There
11 March - 17 April 2010
WALID RAAD We Decided to Let Them Say 'We Are Convinced' Twice. It Was More Convincing This Way
21 January - 6 March 2010
THOMAS HIRSCHHORN Black & White Hemisphere
1 October - 21 November 2009
LYNETTE YIADOM-BOAKYE Pleased to Meet You
6 August - 26 September 2009
ZINEB SEDIRA MiddleSea
4 June - 1 August 2009
ZINA SARO-WIWA This is My Africa