Opening on Thursday 26 and Friday 27 March at 6 pm
The Gautrain project – set to transform our urban landscape, environment and modus vivendi forever – signals the dawn of a new era in our country. Patrick de Mervelec presents a series of large format photographic prints which focus on abstract compositions and perspectives of the futuristic structures, elevations and excavations which make up Bombela’s audacious construction sites. Deep shadows created by gigantic buildings, towering machines, tunnels disappearing into the infinite. . . In this underground and overground megapole, fortresses dominate the sky and day merges with night in the spotlight of powerful projectors.
The sheer magnitude of these dimensions, this geometric conception of space applied to architecture and design, the inevitable move into the future - recall, to de Mervelec, the constructivist movement of early 20th century Russia. With the advent of the industrial age, sculptors, graphic designers, engineers, architects, painters, photographers – be they Tatlin, Malevitch, Rodchenko or Lissitsky – reflect social upheaval and urban transformation via a new form of artistic creation linked on every level. From typefaces and layouts to geometric construction and new-age architecture, everything changes, giving rise to the powerful creative imprint which was taken over by the Bolsheviks and which strongly influenced the Bauhaus movement.
For de Mervelec the Gautrain imposes a revolutionary visual perception which needs to be captured through the eye of the lens. This exhibition seeks to blur the boundaries between fine art and engineering, and reflect on the role of the men and women who are creating these dynamics.
Venue
Gallery Gerard Sekoto
Alliance Française of Johannesburg
17 Lower Park Drive corner Kerry Road
Parkview - opposite Zoo Lake
The exhibition continues until Thursday 2 April.
Gallery hours
Monday - Thursday : 9 am - 8 pm
Friday : 9 am - 6 pm
Saturday : 9 am - 1 pm
For more information
Contact Pauline
culture.jhb@alliance.org.za
011 646 1169
