Notes

South African culture, historically, and still in the contemporary moment, has and is partially characterized by the separation of people. This is done politically, economically, socially and physically. This legacy of separation is often accompanied by a large degree of paranoia, especially amongst the white middle-to-upper-class minority, which manifests itself in the form of higher walls, electrified fences, increased surveillance and perimeters engulfed in razor wire.

Like many of these security measures, razor wire acts not only as a tactile and physical deterrent or barrier, but also as a psychological one. The sight of a tangled mass of razor sharp barbs easily conjures images of ripped clothing and flesh. Thus, this series of Untitled (Razor Wire) sculptures are rendered in an extremely fragile material, where the physical threat is largely removed. As an art object it also brings the aesthetics of ‘security’ from the perimeter (of a property) indoors (of a gallery or home) thus collapsing the typical psychology of security and separation.

Exhibited

Tyburn Gallery, London, Broken English, 18 September to 28 October 2015.

cf. A similar example was shown at FNB Johannesburg Art Fair, Johannesburg, South Africa, 2013.

Literature

Rowan Smith. (2014) Artists Monograph. Cape Town, Whatiftheworld. A similar example is illustrated in colour on page 54.