Meschac Gaba “Le Monde” at Stevenson, Cape Town

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Meschac Gaba, Citoyen du monde, 2012. Inkjet print on synthetic canvas. Courtesy the artist and Stevenson, Cape Town/Johannesburg

Meschac Gaba
Le Monde

6 June – 20 July 2013
at Stevenson, Cape Town

Meschac Gaba’s exhibition “”Le Monde” will comprise works that he made for the recent Benin Biennale as well as an installation titled La Mode en Miniature.

La Mode en Miniature takes the form of a shop of babies’ and children’s clothes, made in Cotonou, Benin, and displayed on painted dummies, also from Cotonou. At first glance, the installation appears childlike and sweet, yet a closer look reveals that the embroidered texts on the colourful clothes are violent, disturbing and disconcerting words and phrases, a reminder of children’s vulnerability to certain phenomena in our society. The context of a shop-like space is a thread that runs through Gaba’s work, in which he repeatedly explores issues of cultural exchange and value.

The works on the Benin Biennale evolved out of a huge composite flag that Gaba made for a recent survey exhibition of art from West Africa held in Manchester. As the artist explains, he fused all African flags together as a symbol of unity, solidarity and friendship, elongating each flag into a narrow triangle converging on a central point. The resulting optical spectacle inspired him to create a world flag fusing all countries’ flags, and again symbolic of a togetherness that could resolve the crises that proliferate across our world. For Gaba, the singularity of each flag is lost in the rhythm of the composition, as is the case with countries in the age of globalisation where the national is absorbed in the international. The idealism and humour of these two huge flags characterise Gaba’s desire for his art to infuse a playfulness in our perceptions of the world which would, in turn, make the world a better place for us all. At Art Basel in June 2013 the gallery will exhibit a huge hanging globe-like balloon with the same design featuring all the flags of the world as part of the fair’s Unlimited sector. [read the full text here]

Stevenson, Cape Town
Buchanan Building
160 Sir Lowry Road
Woodstock 7925
Cape Town,
South Africa
stevenson.info

Opening hours
Monday – Friday: 9h00 – 17h00
Saturday: 10h00 – 13h00

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Meschac Gaba, Le monde, 2013. Exhibition view. Courtesy the artist and Stevenson, Cape Town/Johannesburg

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Meschac Gaba, Project Voyage, 2012. UN, Brazil, League of Arab States, China, Russia, NATO, Vatican, AU, UK, USA, EU, Tibetan and Israeli flags, wooden palettes, wooden sticks. Courtesy the artist and Stevenson, Cape Town/Johannesburg

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Meschac Gaba, Le monde en miniature et la mode en miniature. Cardboard figures, mannequins, children’s clothing Courtesy the artist and Stevenson, Cape Town/Johannesburg

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Meschac Gaba, Musée de l’art de la vie active: bibliothèque Roulante, 2012. 67 number plates, digital video, motorbike. Courtesy the artist and Stevenson, Cape Town/Johannesburg

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Meschac Gaba, Musée de l’art de la vie active: bibliothèque Roulante, 2012, detail. Courtesy the artist and Stevenson, Cape Town/Johannesburg

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Meschac Gaba, Musée de l’art de la vie active: bibliothèque Roulante, 2012, detail. Courtesy the artist and Stevenson, Cape Town/Johannesburg

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