In previous iterations of Duo, Susana and Candice would alternate selecting two works of art and writing about the pair. In this iteration, Candice chose one work and Susana, in response, the other- a painting by Foibe Amundaba and a work on paper by Peter Clarke. They then sat down and discussed these pieces; Candice’s […]

I recently went away for a few weeks with a friend and her family. It was the first time I was able to spend close and safe time with her nephew since just after he was born. Entering the Time of Two, his vocabulary is bursting and stumbling forth; a frightening thing to have a […]

Our duo this week includes works of art by David Koloane and Paul Blomkamp.
Despite different methodologies of practice, the focus this week draws upon the comparable depictions of bustling spaces created by these artists – one a monotype and the other a drawing in charcoal.

The frenetic energy evident in both Mahlathini Street III and Highspeed Highveld high trip eleven is constructed by the strong and repetitive use of line; Paul Blomkamp’s furiously drawn lines in various colours and David Koloane’s lines in charcoal translating a strong visual sense of the heavy smog city dwellers know so well.
Highspeed Highveld high trip eleven utilises line, although frantic, in a uniform manner; the lines draw the eyes up-and-down, up-and-down in a repeated manner, somewhat reminiscent of the lights of cars and streetlights seen in late-night city watching. They lend a sense of the endless to and fro of lined up cars waiting for movement; the lines at the top a shorter, frenzied movement, working towards longer lines and a calmer movement at the bottom of the work. Utilised in a different way, the varied directional lines forcing the eyes to crisscross across the composition, Mahlathini Street III is a specific, contained site. The use of charcoal as medium softens and blends, creating a continuous sense of movement with short bursts of lines.