THE MAK URBAN FUTURE INITIATIVE PRESENTS: Cancelled Without Prejudice by Ismail Farouk Part Two of Exhibition Series Locus Remix. Three Contemporary Positions
Opening Reception: Wednesday, November 5, 7 - 9 pm Artist Walkthrough on MAK Day: Saturday, November 8, 2 pm Exhibition Dates: November 6, 2008 - January 4, 2009
MAKCenter for Art and Architecture, Los Angeles Schindler House 835 North Kings Road West Hollywood, CA 90069
Please join us on Wednesday, November 5 for the opening of Cancelled Without Prejudice, a survey of the work of UFI fellow Ismail Farouk, an artist and urban geographer from Johannesburg, South Africa. Through video, photography and performance, Farouk documents patterns of spatial injustice and explores a variety of interventions aimed at producing a more just urban landscape. With Cancelled Without Prejudice, Farouk examines the contradictions of mainstream urban development in Johannesburg and Los Angeles, revealing a common narrative unfolding in both cities: the privatization of public space and the criminalization of poverty.
Cancelled Without Prejudice includes a selection of video installations that illustrate Farouk's varied approach to circumventing the mechanisms of injustice, such as a series of surveillance videos documenting police corruption and abuse of undocumented migrants. In the video "Rock Sale," Farouk challenges Johannesburg's ban on street vendors by setting up his own sidewalk enterprise and attempting to sell rocks and piles of sand - items of no monetary value. Farouk's video and photography bare witness to similar patterns of injustice in Los Angeles, particularly in Skid Row.
Cancelled Without Prejudice will be on view at the Schindler House from November 6, 2008 - January 4, 2009. The opening reception, which is free and open to the public, will be on Wednesday, November 5 at 7 p.m. Farouk will lead a walkthrough of the exhibition as part of MAK Day, on Saturday, November 8, at 2 p.m.
The MAKCenter presents Cancelled Without Prejudice as the second part of Locus Remix. Three Contemporary Positions, a three-part exhibition featuring the work of Katie Grinnan, Ismail Farouk and Dorit Margreiter. In a rapidly changing world where complexity, uncertainty and instability are givens, it is increasingly important to combine precise focus with diverse points of view. Locus Remix features three artists who work with place, meaning, and representation. In each case, the artist is drawing from cultural iconography, the poetics and the politics of space, and the sacred and profane in architecture. In three distinct ways, the act of cultural interpretation is questioned and problemitized. Locus Remix is organized by MAKCenter Director Kimberli Meyer.
Recently, I was invited by the Bag factory Artist Studios in Johannesburg to participate in a 10 day performance workshop called 'Rites of Fealty/ Rites of Passage', which culminated in a one-night exhibition showcasing new performance artworks by emerging South African artists. The complete list of invited artists included Bronwyn Lace, Nadine Hutton, Anthea Moys, Mlu Zondi, Ntando Cele, Rat Western, Murray Turpin, Kemang wa Luhere, Dinkies Sithole and Johan Thom.
My latest work, "The Chinas" was presented at the opening of the .ZA Young Art from South Africa show which opened in Siena Italy this weekend. Without saying too much, the work deals with the debates around the evictions in the suburb of Bertrams as a result of the upcoming 2010 world cup.
There are many stakeholders involved in the area. There seems to be conflicting agendas and dreams for the future of the area. What is apparent is that the suburb is not being designed for the poorer residents who are being pushed out without viable alternatives.
A special thanks to Zack Sejaphala for conducting the interviews in Zulu and to "The Chinas" for welcoming me into their homes and hearts.
How do you feel about the shape of things to come in Joburg?
I submitted this image called 'Mistrust' for the Contemporary Visions of Southern exhibition at the Pretoria Art Museum. It was taken in Yeoville in 2004 and it formed part of my research project which looked at the mapping of social networks in the suburb.
Earlier this year, I conducted some research for the exhibition, "Apartheid: The South African Mirror", which opened last week at the CCCB in Barcelona. The exhibition looks at South African racism as a mirror for European racism. It traces the origins of modern racism, it follows it's spread throughout the world from the colonial era to the wealthiest regions of the world in the post-colonial era.
My contribution focussed on objects related to 'racial classification'. For this purpose, I visited the Wits Anatomy Museum where the following instruments of measurement and African face masks were sourced.
The Von Luschan Scale consists of rocks of varying colour and was an early instrument used to classify African skin clour. They were replaced by electro spectrometers during the 1950's.
This skull of French origin forms part of a series of crania which depicts the 'ideal' features of race. The skull shown here is the 'ideal' Caucasian skull. Go figure?
This African Mask from the Robert Dart Collection was created as a once of object which cannot be reproduced. The museum has an extensive collection of African masks which were created to classify African racial differentiation. The collection is somewhat controversial because of the infringements on human rights and the objectification of African people.
There has been some debate on removing the collection from display. I think that the collection provides an important resource for all of us to learn from and so it needs to remain accessible to the public.
My 'Rock Sale' is showing at the Unfair Trade exhibition opening at the Neue Galeriein Austria this weekend. This is truly an exciting opportunity as 'Rock Sale' has never been exhibited before and I could not have asked for a better platform for my work.
The Unfair Trade Exhibition attempts to draw attention to fair trade, above all fair exchange. This exhibition on the subject of global "Un/fair Trade" does not only show art works dealing with this theme, but collaborates with scientists from the fields of economics, sociology and cultural theory. In addition to the curated works, the exhibition also boast an online component. Participants are invited to contribute thoughts, opinions and art work on the subject of "Un/fair Trade" on the Net. At the same time, these texts, opinions and art works will be projected into the museum. Hence, every online visitor becomes a participant and artist in the exhibition.
The show boasts a star studded line up including works by fellow South African Andrew Tshabangu as well works by one of my favorite artists of all time Santiago Sierra. The organisers of the exhibition also intend to host a series of panel discussions and interviews with the aim of producing content in the area of fair trade and with the consideration of the following world renowned individuals:
Joseph Stiglitz (economist, Nobel prizewinner 2001), Amartya Sen (economist, Nobel prizewinner 1998), Branko Milanovic (economist, World Bank), gnacio Ramonet (Le Monde diplomatique), Paul Krugman (economist), Michael Walzer (philosopher), Martha Nussbaum (philosopher), Saskia Sassen (sociologist, economist), Jean-Pierre Boris (journalist, author of '(Un)fair trade'), Georg Gruber (Managing Director of FairTrade Austria), Bernhard Mark-Ungericht (business economist; specialist in corporate governance)
Rock Sale was a public protest and performance in defiance of the Johannesburg City by-laws which prohibited street trading on the sidewalks of Johannesburg. The corporate regeneration programme in Braamfontein (JHB) instituted in 2002 showed no recognition towards the street traders and applied a heavy hand through persecution and harassment by the Metro Police. Every time a police raid occurred, traders were fined R150 and their goods were confiscated. Sometimes harassment by the police resulted in violent action as traders were often beaten and abused.
In response to this situation I devised a performance where I stationed myself on the sidewalk in Braamfontein and, in direct contravention of the By-Laws; I attempted to sell rocks and piles of sand - Objects of no monetary value! I priced these items at R150 (15 Euro) each. The location for my stall was a sidewalk outside a prominent shopping center in Braamfontein. My performance was carried out over a period of 2 days. My stall was demarcated by existing painted floor markings which marked out trading spaces where trading was possible before the corporate regeneration programme was instituted.
The objectives of my actions were to raise awareness to the unequal playing field created by the regeneration program. I also wanted to know if the police would confiscate my rocks - Would they? I was breaking the law after all.
After setting up I was immediately surrounded by people. They wanted to know what I was doing. People shouted random insults at me. It seems my actions were really confusing to some people – no rock sales were made.
It was not long before taxi drivers became curious about my performance. They hung out in my stall, standing behind me chirping at passers-by and thoroughly entertained by the rock sale.
It took a while for the police to turn up. A Metro Policeman asked me to explain my actions. I handed her a pamphlet which read, "Did you know that the rights of traders on Jorissen Street are being violated by the Government?"
I thought I had done enough to earn some trouble with the law. But to my amazement, the Metro Officer thought my actions were funny and she laughed at me before leaving. It seems its ok to sell rocks and piles of sand in a no trade area of the city but don’t dare try selling convenience items like cigarettes and sweets because you will be beaten and fined.
A movie by:Babak Fakhamzadeh and Ismail Farouk Avalon Cemetery is one of the largest cemeteries in South Africa and is the final resting place of many political and cultural activists. The cemetery is about 170ha in size and is managed by the City of Johannesburg’s City Parks division. At the entrance to the cemetery, a memorial with the words, "Never Never Again" inscribed on it pays tribute to those who lost their lives in the Soweto uprisings of 1976. Avalon Cemetery is facing severe pressure. With the death rate is increasing by 10% per year and more than 200 funerals occurring each weekend, the cemetery is running out of space.
Compounding the problem is the Aids pandemic. With more than 6.5 million of the country's 47 million people infected with HIV, demand for space is increasing. Every weekend, convoys of buses carrying mourners bring the Old Potchefstroom Road to a standstill. This has resulted in special traffic marshals being deployed to deal with the traffic congestion every weekend. Cremation is not considered appropriate for most people so City Parks are encouraging families to consider the "second burial" option, where several members of a family are buried in the same grave.
"We Cannot Continue to Die like this" is a short animated movie which responds to the pressures experienced by the cemetery because of the increase of funerals as a direct result of AIDS related deaths. The film frames the dense weekend funeral traffic in relationship to the 1976 memorial located at the entrance of the cemetery. This is done to bring about awareness to the current day struggle our society is experiencing. History is represented by the memorial to fallen heroes of 1976 - history will demand to know where our leaders are now, when this preventable disease continues to kill millions of people.
In February 2006 I was hired as an exhibition researcher for the exhibition, Johannesburg Emerging / Diverging Metropolis' which was held in Medrisio, Switzerland. Find out more about my contribution here. Below please find the official text from the exhibition:
With an approximate metropolitan population of 3,5 million (of a total for South Africa of 40 million), a large share of its Province (Gauteng)'s 33% contribution to the country's GDP, a high level of infrastructural and technological development, a cultural and creative vitality that radiates throughout the entire country, and a growing significance in the global economy, Johannesburg is demographically and economically not only a leading metropolis on the African continent, but it also constitutes an illuminating point of reference when trying to understand the new global urban system under way.
Furthermore, Johannesburg also brings together with particular intensity all the problems inherited from a dramatically divided past under the apartheid regime: territorial and urban fragmentation, ageing infrastructure, a slowing industrial economy based on mining, economic and social polarization, a tremendous shortage of dwellings and services in the most disadvantaged sectors, the proliferation of new informal settlements, etc. It is no wonder that many of the most significant urban and architectural projects in the country are concentrated here.
The exhibition here outlined offersa - gainst the backdrop of an outlook comprising the serious problems inherited from apartheid - an overview of the transformations under way in the city and its metropolitan area, and a selection of the most interesting architectural and urban projects completed or under way in the last ten years (1995-2005).
The common denominator of the best of these projects is twofold: firstly, they implement architectural and planning practices to overcome the social, political and cultural divisions of the past and to respond to the fluidity of the post apartheid landscape; secondly, and simultaneously, they contribute to develop South Africa's enormous economic potential and to make its principal cities (most particularly Johannesburg, but also Cape Town and Durban) international points of reference.
In addition, the exhibition also includes a selection of daring projects by former students of the School of Architecture and Urban Planning of University of Witwatersrand, dealing with some of the most pressing and often intractable issues that the city faces.
Finally, an extraordinary series of photos by David Goldblatt documents and portrays how ordinary people are responding to these projects, and their agency in transforming the city; how their initiatives and the necessities of their lives (economic, social and cultural) rewrite the public and private spaces of the apartheid city (streets, parks, apartment blocks, traffic intersections, vacant land) into a fluid and contested urban terrain; and how, in the face of this, other citizens are retreating into private, parallel worlds, behind gates, fences and guard houses.
With its multi-dimensional approach, the exhibition shows how the transformations under way are often the scene of serious conflict between, on the one hand, the will to develop an urban policy that prioritizes the objective of greater justice and social and territorial balance and, on the other, strategies and large specific projects aimed at transforming an industrial economy to a financial and services based economy and at increasing competitiveness and profitability - strategies and projects that very often mean consolidating the territorial and urban guidelines handed down by apartheid.
By this token, beyond its intrinsic interest, the current South African experience, and more specifically the Johannesburg experience, speak to other 'emerging' countries and cities that are reinventing themselves in the wake of complex and divided pasts.
Minibus Taxis are the most popular means of transportation in the urban areas of South Africa. The taxi industry is largely informal and is characterised by competing Taxi associations. This informality is also reflected by the service industry related to the maintenance of taxis. Taxis are predominantly serviced by immigrant populations who provide specialised motor related services on the immediate sidewalks, in direct contravention of the city by-laws.
For most immigrants, harassment by the police is a constant fear, which has led to the criminalizing of activities and a sense of non-belonging and subsequent transient nature of life. Popular strategies of survival from police harassment include the falsification of identification documents, which is a thriving business in Johannesburg. Other strategies for survival include the speaking of Zulu by Zimbabwean residents. Most Zimbabweans claim to come from Kwa-Zulu Natal as a strategy for survival.
In negotiating a new vision for the city, It is often the economically disadvantaged who feel marginalised by the decision-making, because the vision is not theirs. In response to the situation, my construction of a car exhaust sculpture is a small gesture of recognition to the contribution made by the informal motor tradesman of Johannesburg.
Photo Credit: Pep Subiros
My brief here in Switzerland was to construct a freestanding visible physical element within a gallery context, which began to speak about the informal aspects of the city of Johannesburg. I was also asked to design a soundscape landscape and to produce an interactive map locating post-apartheid architectural projects in Johannesburg. With the generous help from a small family owned metal working company called 'Finke' here in Mendrisio Switzerland, a free standing exhaust structure constructed from car exhausts parts of Swiss origin was assembled. Sound equipment consisting of various car radio/tape players and car speakers were easily attached to the structure for the soundscape component of the brief. Lastly two 19" LCD screens were mounted on either end of the structure for the interactive mapping application.
My good friend Babak Fakhamzadeh who now resides in Thailand designed the mapping application. Babak's application allows me to map a location, add a description, tag associated images from Flickr.com and display relevant information related to a location through the use of Google Blog search.
For a first hand experience of the mapping application please visit the map page of this site.
Dirk Bahmann is a Johannesburg architect and artist who has always shared a fascination for the minedumps of Johannesburg. As an architectural student, his master's thesis project focussed on minedumps as sacred spaces. As Bahmann elaborates, "The minedumps around the city seem to be part of the city landscape, yet at the same time they are dislocated from the activities of everyday life". Indeed it is this detached nature of the minedumps, which provides an opportunity for self-reflection.
It seems like the minedumps of Johannesburg have always been there. They are a constant reminder of the origins of the city from mining town to emerging Metropolis - the minedumps are an important part of the political economy of space. At the same time, the minedumps of Johannesburg are a contested space. Used as physical barriers to the city, the minedumps to the South West of the city were used effectively to divide the city from the South Western townships (Soweto).
And it is here, pressed up against the township side that the true nature of the Johannesburg minedumps are revealed. In tiny houses, the residents of Diepkloof Soweto struggle with respiratory diseases and continual dust, which has ingrained daily life. The minedumps are toxic landscapes synonymous for acidifying groundwater and radon gas. In recent years, many studies have been carried out looking at the potential of redeveloping the minedumps as potential areas for new housing developments. Other proposals seek to relocate minedumps away from the city to peripheral urban towns where they can be reprocessed. It seems like the minedumps of the city provides development value because of their proximity to the city. However, environmentalists warn that the dangers associated with radon gas are still apparent even though the minedumps are to be relocated.
In interpreting this shifting landscape, Bahmann was presented with the challenging task of recreating the minedump landscape of Johannesburg in a gallery context in Mendrisio Switzerland. His brief was to construct a type of furniture in the form of a minedump. According to the brief, the purpose of the furniture was to house exhibition related material, typically 2d graphic panels. Starting in early 2006, Bahmann's conceptualisation and design process was aided by Tom Chapman, an architecture student at the University of Witwatersrand in Johannesburg. Early attempts to construct the minedump furniture resulted in failure. And so it seemed like an unenviable task, but strangely enough, it is funny how physical distance provides a new point of view, which often helps the creative process. In Bahmann's case, being here Mendrisio, away from the pressures of work and the big city, resulted in success. As new installation and building techniques developed with assistants from the Accademia di architettura in Mendrisio all came together, culminating in impressive structures, which resemble the massive minedumps of Johannesburg.
In the gallery context, Bahmann's furniture seen in relation to one another seem to be shifting, their massive imposition, divides the gallery space, with visitors needing to walk on either side of the structures. Here in Mendrisio, a small town surrounded by the Swiss Alps, many parallels can be drawn between the impressive surrounding mountain range and the man made minedumps of Johannesburg. Perhaps many comparisons will be made through the mediation of Bahmann's furniture. And so ultimately, Mendrisio is not that far away from Johannesburg after all.
Click here for a slideshow presentation of the minedump furniture construction process.
'Sometimes a Fire' was the name give to the photographic series depicting a fire and subsequent struggle at a heritage house located in Bertrams, the oldest suburb in Johannesburg. The fire occurred in June 2006 on a cold winters night and was caused by a paraffin heater. The photographic series was exhibited 1 month later at the Parking Gallery in downtown Jozi, on the 29th of July 2006.
The house has been suffering from structural problems and has been declared unsafe for sometime now. Regardless of this fact the building was at the time of the blaze sublet by slum lords and the house had a high occupancy rate of +-40 people of various ages. Currently, the house is being demolished to make way for a new housing development linked to the 2010 soccer world cup.
In addition to the photography, visitors to the exhibition were treated to sneak preview of my film JHB626GP - A film made for the Venice Architecture Biennale in 2006. The movie was projected on a whitewashed wall, which formed an impressive rooftop cinema, with commanding night time views of the inner city of Johannesburg.
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