Future Memories – Manfred Zylla
19 ottobre – 18 novembre 2010
Manfred Zylla was born in Germany in 1939, living as a child through the ravages of World War II and its aftermath. Resident in South Africa since 1970, he became prominent as an artist highly critical of apartheid in the 1980’s with a stream of drawings, prints and paintings. These works are widely acknowledged as critical for understanding resistance art, an important chapter in South African art history.
The era of resistance art drew to a close in 1994, when South Africa held its first democratic elections. Zylla has, however, continued to work within a paradigm of social critique, producing works about globalisation and the social and political circumstances, forces and ills at play in South Africa and the world at large. In this respect, he has made works about pollution, global warming and natural resources, capitalism, crime, drugs, refuges, alternative energy and transport, attitudes towards disability, and Africa as a playground for the rich.
Zylla’s paintings are dealing with issues, which affect all of us – says Heidi Erdmann, curator – They tell the plight of the world, and point to Zylla’s strong concern with the destiny of humanity, the future of the planet and most importantly art as a tool for change.
