Robin Rhode, a South African artist based in Berlin, found the medium for his latest work in an abandoned stadium in Johannesburg, the city where he grew up and whose “decay” inspires him.
“My work is deeply rooted in Johannesburg and I think one of the reasons is that the city functions, in many ways, as a kind of rough, damaged canvas, it’s almost a call to draw or paint a new story on that rough canvas,” the 48-year-old artist told AFP.
Robin Rhode moved to Berlin from Johannesburg 20 years ago, when his international career took off. He paints on walls, sets pianos on fire and draws everyday objects (keys, light bulbs, etc.) in chalk or charcoal.
He often expresses himself on external supports (walls, floors), where the bulk of his work is destined to fade away. His works are immortalized in often mischievous photos, where he or his collaborators sometimes pose during the creation, or in videos.
His work has been purchased by prestigious institutions such as the MoMA (Museum of Modern Art) in New York. He made a video for the rock band U2 and won the Zurich Art Prize in 2018.
He could work anywhere, but Johannesburg keeps calling him back.
Fifteen years ago, the Cecil Payne Stadium in South Africa’s economic capital was extensively renovated and upgraded to become a training venue for the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa.
Then abandoned by the municipality, its fence was gradually stolen to be sold at the price of scrap metal.
A private club maintains the main course, but weeds, broken bottles and even spent ammunition casings have overgrown what remains of a miniature golf course, mini concrete soccer fields and a tennis practice wall.
It was on this wall that Robin Rhode painted the first work in a series entitled “Joburg Hymn”.
“Coming back from Berlin, walking around these places again, going through the city and seeing the decay of these structures, really had a profound effect on me,” he says. “It motivated me to come back and reawaken these installations.”
– Decrepit grounds, chic galleries –
Johannesburg has had 10 mayors in the past eight years, some lasting only a few weeks, turning the city council into a game of musical chairs.
Amid the political chaos, a commuter train line has closed, street lights have gone out and infrastructure such as the stadium has ceased to be maintained.
This decay inspired “Joburg Hymn” which mixes drawings, paintings, photos, videos and animations.
A drone, piloted by his brother Wesley, films, for example, Robin Rhode posing in black among light bulbs – a symbol of the numerous power cuts suffered by the city – drawn on the ground of disused land.
South African piano virtuoso Qden Blaauw from Cape Town, or a song performed by Maxime Sheepers, Love Schebabe and Kevin Narain, singers and songwriters from Johannesburg, accompany videos.
“Working with Robin always reminds me to keep hope and stay optimistic,” Kevin Narain told AFP. “What we’re doing is giving new life to the landscape. It’s resurrecting a forgotten past.”
“Joburg Hymn” is exhibited in September and October in two Johannesburg galleries, the prestigious Circa and the neighboring Stevenson Gallery, two chic places a thousand miles from the decrepit grounds that are the fertile sources of his creativity.
“The raw canvas that is Johannesburg serves as my inspiration, my motivation, it’s a way for me to come back and inject some kind of energy and life, a new story into these dilapidated spaces. It calls for regeneration,” Rhode said.
This “also allows my art to function as a critique of the various political structures that are collapsing. I want to use my art as a mechanism for change.”
gs/br/ayv/emd
