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AftermathMargaret Nel The exhibition opens on 10 May and runs until 31 May In `Aftermath`, Nel explores the fallout and consequent loss arising from trauma, whether on a personal, national or global scale. Nel uses commonplace items such as children`s toys, sweet wrappers and empty discarded packaging, blowing them up to larger-than-life proportions, creating a staged tableau of still life studies that are quietly troubling in their size and simplicity. These objects are symbols of inertia, disorientation and waste, capturing a sense of despair for a country wracked by infrastructural, moral and economic corruption. These studies are ultimately symbolic of the loss and misuse of power. The exploitation of resources has been intertwined with the history of South Africa and the African continent for centuries, and has particular relevance in our current political climate. Simultaneously, the work is also symbolic of the often debilitating aftermath of any personal loss. We have all experienced loss in some form, perhaps the death of a pet when a child or leaving the safety of a mother`s care when going to school for the first time, to more substantial losses over time such as the death of or abandonment by a parent or partner, a friend or an adult child, a career or business failure, or the loss of health. The debilitating effects of age and the consequent loss of power and a voice and sense of self are perhaps the ultimate cruel and unexpected loss that all of humanity has to encounter eventually. In `Still l`, for example, three children`s pinwheels are displayed at massive scale, their gaudy, carnivalesque colouring starkly contrasting against a foreboding, drought stricken landscape, where they stand motionless and futile. In `Alert`, a pile of Christmas cracker plastic and metal whistles lie idle, their cheap design rendering them impractical and ultimately ineffectual. `Remains I` depicts an empty styrofoam tray, its torn plastic sheath the only evidence of its erstwhile contents. "Stripped I, II and III depict brilliantly coloured, bare foil wrappers that seem to suggest both bounty and bankruptcy. `Remains II, III and IV` presents us with a set of lustrous, empty foil containers, at once entirely purposeless, yet redolent with the promise of some imagined reward. More about the artist(s): art.co.za/margaretnel |
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 Artist: 1 Margaret Nel Title: Stilled  Artist: 2 Margaret Nel Title: Still I  Artist: 3 Margaret Nel Title: Still II  Artist: 4 Margaret Nel Title: Still III  Artist: 5 Margaret Nel Title: Still-IV  Artist: 6 Margaret Nel Title: Still-V  Artist: 7 Margaret Nel Title: Still-VI  Artist: 8 Margaret Nel Title: Still-VII  Artist: 9 Margaret Nel Title: Still-VIII  Artist: 10 Margaret Nel Title: Whole  Artist: 11 Margaret Nel Title: Stripped I  Artist: 12 Margaret Nel Title: Stripped II  Artist: 13 Margaret Nel Title: Stripped III  Artist: 14 Margaret Nel Title: Treat I  Artist: 15 Margaret Nel Title: Treat II  Artist: 16 Margaret Nel Title: Treat III  Artist: 17 Margaret Nel Title: Remains-I  Artist: 18 Margaret Nel Title: Remains-II  Artist: 19 Margaret Nel Title: Remains-III  Artist: 20 Margaret Nel Title: Remains-IV  Artist: 21 Margaret Nel Title: Mother  Artist: 22 Margaret Nel Title: Spoon  Artist: 23 Margaret Nel Title: Bird I  Artist: 24 Margaret Nel Title: Bird II  Artist: 25 Margaret Nel Title: Tribute I  Artist: 26 Margaret Nel Title: Tribute II  Artist: 27 Margaret Nel Title: Tribute III  Artist: 28 Margaret Nel Title: Curio-I  Artist: 29 Margaret Nel Title: Curio-II  Artist: 30 Margaret Nel Title: Curio-III  Artist: 31 Margaret Nel Title: Allsorts I  Artist: 32 Margaret Nel Title: Allsorts II  Artist: 33 Margaret Nel Title: Allsorts III  Artist: 34 Margaret Nel Title: Allsorts IV  Artist: 35 Margaret Nel Title: Allsorts V | |||
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