Gavin Jantjes
This work (plate 231) is a typical example of Jantjes’ first body of mature works: photographic silkscreens that dealt directly with apartheid and resistance. It incorporates several well known images of the 1976 Soweto uprising, including one by Peter Magubane, as well as lesser-known photographs, not least George Hallett’s picture of the artist Dumile Feni (qv.) giving a defiant two’s up. The confrontational theme of the print is enhanced through the use of frontal images, an emphasis on movement, and fragmentation. The use of cut and torn edges suggests rupture and displacement, whilst the repetition of the main figure communicates a continuity in resistance. The imposition of barbed wire over the photographic imagery and the use of an apartheid street sign emphasises barriers and divisions. Read More…
