Melville is creating a name for itself as a place of art and culture by exhibiting work in an exclusive space and promoting the arts in the social hotspot.
The Melville Art Project (MAP) Contemporary Gallery is a space that was opened with the specific purpose of bringing fine art into the domestic, commercial and corporate environment in order to provide art lovers with all the services they need to buy or create collections.
On 13 August, the gallery will become the temporary home of Layziehound Coka’s newest work titled Unfettered Egos and the Absence of Substance. The artwork will be put on display in this solo exhibition of the new body of work created by the Johannesburg-based artist.
The exhibition reflects on the injustices of the socio-political landscape in South Africa, a topic that the artist feels is often debated upon in various contexts but is an issue never resolved – and it is from everyday circumstances that inspiration is drawn.
Coka’s work is centred on an assortment of characters in suits, typically with an aloof appearance, which build on the theme and title of the work and depicts the people with unfettered egos and little substance.
These men are seemingly unfazed by what takes place in their immediate environments and, furthermore, portray the current climate, feelings and atmosphere of the youth.
The artist, who typically creates his work on canvas and paper, always produces works with ‘cracks’ in the art – a symbol of the cracks in society and cracks in the seemingly unfazed demeanour of the characters in suits.
Situated on the corner of 4th Avenue and 7th Street, this collection at MAP Contemporary Gallery promises to allow for introspection by the viewer, in addition to forcing each art lover to take a look at society and the current state of the nation.
Take a look at the world through Coka’s eyes from 13 August.
