CON/TEXT + I.D./OLOGY (review)

CON/ TEXT + I. D. / OLOGY AXIS GALLERY New York May 17 - June 22, 2002 CON/ TEXT and I. D. / OLOGY are a pair of exhi bi t i ons or gani zed by Axi s Gallery in New York for t he 2002 spr i ng and f all seasons. Conceived as one show wit h t wo component s, CON/ TEXT show cases w or ks t hat i ncl ude t ext , wher eas I. D. / OLOGY f eat ur es works t hat examine ident it y and i deol ogy crit ically. Curat or Gary van Wyk st at es t hat l i nki ng t he t wo show s (bot h t hr ough t he et ymol ogi cal play on words and t he shared ar t i st s' list ) i nvi t es t he works t o be read wi t hi n broader phi l osophi cal and t heoret ical f rameworks. Axi s Gallery was f ounded in 1997 in New York's Chelsea di st rict and occupies a special posi t i on as t he onl y domest ic gallery speci al i zi ng in cont emporary and t r adit ional art s f rom sout her n Af rica. Thus, t he gallery provides an "ax i s" bet ween past and present , and bet ween Sout h Af rica and t he Unit ed St at es. Direct or Lisa Brit t an and curat or Gary van Wyk organize exhi bi t i ons t hat bl end vi sual enj oyment wit h crit ical engagement . The art works are of t en accompani ed by educat i onal i nf or mat i on and writ t en in underst andabl e t erms for a broad public audience. CON/ TEXT was on view f rom May 17 t hr ough June 22, 2002 and incl uded works by Frit ha Langer m an, Bret t Murray, Rudzani Nem aset oni , Joanne Pat t erson, Ian van Coller, and Sue Wi l l i amson. The exhi bi t i on br ought t oget her six ar t i st s working in a diverse range of media f rom print s, sculpt ure, and phot ogr aphy, t o i nst al l at i on w or ks rel at ed t o si gni f i cant t ext s, or usi ng recorded or recycled t ext . Two i m por t ant bodi es of work in t hi s exhi bi t i on were inspired by t he Trut h and Reconci l i at i on Com m i ssi on hear i ngs (TRC) t hat commenced in 1996. Over seen by Ar chbi shop Desmond Tut u, t he TRC sol icit ed Sout h Af ricans who considered t hemsel ves agent s, vi ct i ms or survivors of human right s vi ol at i ons per pet r at ed in t he Apart heid era t o t est if y before a nat i onal f or um. Sue Wi l l i amson's print Winnie Mandela and t he Assassinat ion of Dr. Asvat ( 1998) present s i mages and t ext f rom an event t aken direct ly f rom TRC hear i ngs. Many people believe t hat Dr. Asvat was assassi nat ed because he woul d not suppl y f alse medical records t o vindicat e Winnie Mandela of i nvol vement in t he deat h of t he t eenage Br et t Mu r r ay , Get t ing t heFundement als Right ,2000 w o o d , lucit e, 67. 5" x 1 3 " x 2 " act i vi st St om pei Sei pei . Wi l l i am son's piece quest i ons whose st ory, or t rut h was t ol d by pr esent i ng an i mage of t he assassi nat ed Dr. Asvat , his br ot...