Athenkosi Kwinana
Displacement In The Community
The Colour Series | 2022
As of the first of June, I joined the Admirals Residency in Cape Town, until the fifteenth of July 2022. The residency provided space for artists to create artworks with a collaborative surface or theme. The theme we explored focused on “displacement in community”.
In creating a body of artworks each artist had to consider the following questions. What does the theme mean to you? How do you relate?
To me, the term related to Albinism opens multiple streams of discourses such as colourism, race and gender dynamics. For my resident body of artworks, I explored the notion of colourism related to Albinism, thus the inspiration behind my body of artwork’s subheading: The Colour Series.
In making my body of artworks, I have taken a stand to create rational and constructive Imagery that tackles discourses related to Albinism. In regard to colourism – I create artworks that celebrate the uniqueness of black communities of South Africa. As a PLWA my skin does not primarily give off my blackness, as a result, my blackness is questioned. Instead of
critiquing or ostracizing this facet of my identity, I would like to celebrate my blackness.
In making my artworks I use colour pencils on Fabriano paper. I am inspired by a South Korean visual artist who works with hands and the “floating face” as seen in my previous body of artworks Reimagining Albus. Park’s works are based on her theory of psychological duality, where two monsters – one that lives inside her and one that lives outside – are constantly at odds with one another.
In using hands as a symbol, I refer to sign language to emphasise my desired messages. Whilst varying the colour of the background of each artwork. The choice of background colours comes from primary colours surrounding yellow (this being, blue and red), the additional colours orange and green are from mixing yellow with the remaining primary colours.
