On Tuesday 3rd it’s official started the residency of the South African artist Zwelethu Machepha (Johannesburg 1990). During this six weeks the artist will meet with artists and curators of the Roman contemporary art scene. The aim of this residence is the dialogue between two cultures seemingly distant but actually held together by the thread of artistic research. The work of Machepha is focused on the theme of counter history and the idea of colonialism as an appropriation of identity. During his work Machepha will interact with a group of young cultural workers from different fields (curating, video making,editing) who will guide him in a immersive trip in the city. The opening of the exhibition that will conclude the residence will be on May 31 at the Centre Luigi Di Sarro.
Zwelethu Machepha is in many respects the physical embodiment of the young urban African artist generation. Investigating different mediums – drawing, painting, printmaking, sculpture and performing arts, his expression stems from that which he is constantly observing, digesting and living .
The curator Emma Van Der Merwe from Everard Read Gallery (Cape Town) wrote: “Machepha starts as printer and portrait maker – an observer of the many people’s in the African urban landscapes, through the deeply personal relationships Machepha has in the both figurative and abstracted forms that lead to his original Colonial Ghosts Series. Finally here at the Centre, one follows the artist into a stream of consciousness and development with his time spent in Rome. Defined and structured around that which he exposes himself and his working discourse too, his languages and patterns will strive to absorb the energies of the architecture, colours and peoples of Rome”.
