HEMELLIGGAAM OR THE ATTEMPT TO BE HERE NOW
The Hole
Pretoria Art Museum
25 FEBRUARY to 25 APRIL
“Hemelliggaam (Afrikaans for heavenly body) or The Attempt To Be Here Now” is a visual archive, composed of photographs, video, installations, text and sounds, that constantly moves between the reality of significant scientific sites and the imaginative fragments of old Afrikaans science fiction novels, with particular reference to two of the most existential and emblematic writers, Jan Rabie and CJ Langenhoven.
“The Hole” is a site-specific installation at the Pretoria Art Museum initiated by work that includes an inseparable connection between the existence of humankind and the physical effects of space on Earth. From the Tswaing Crater meteor impact site, mining areas in Johannesburg to an amateur astronomy community in Brakpan, the two artists are reconnecting with the words of Jan Rabie: ‘When one man speaks to another, he stands not only in front of a man, but also in front of a stone, a flower, a star.’
(‘The Evolution of Nationalism’ by Jan Rabie, 1957)
Curator Filippo Maggia
Sound compositions Alessandro Gigli
Scientific team Mattia Vaccari, Lucia Marchetti and Michelle Cluver from Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of the Western Cape.
Consultant Davide Chinigò
Exhibition supported and promoted by
The Italian Cultural Institute
Hosting partner
Pretoria Art Museum, City of Tshwane
Project supported by
National Research Foundation