COLBERT MASHILE: What I Dreamt During Times of Drought

This series of new works by Colbert Mashile was created during our period of national lockdown.  Unable to access his Johannesburg studio, he worked from his home in Hoedspruit, Limpopo, with limited materials. The result was a small collection of artworks that communicate his sensitivity towards the South African wilderness, and its coexistence with rural and urban life.

Mashile depicts both wild and domesticated animals alongside familiar objects, in settings that are irrational and incongruous, creating bizarre scenes that challenge our human instinct to understand and rationalize that which we find inexplicable. This sense of mystery is a critical element of Mashile’s practice, the artist constantly seeks to instill a sense of wonder in the viewer.

By representing elements familiar to us, in unfamiliar settings, Mashile draws on the viewer’s collective understanding and associations with elements within the work.

Despite the illustrative qualities of his drawings, Mashile resists interpretation through a singular narrative. He works intuitively, distilling various elements from fleeting ideas in a form of storytelling that, at times, seems to get lost in itself.

This exhibition is exclusively online.

To view the works in person, please contact Grace grace@everard.co.za at Everard Read, Johannesburg.