An 'other' stop on the global art trail: 2nd Johannesburg Biennale

An 'other' stop on the global art trail. The recent boom in Biennales and mega-exhibitions especially outside the center of the Western art metropolis made 1997 an exceptionally busy year for the jet-setting art-trailer, in addition to the well-established and handsomely financed purveyors of contemporary art in the West, there are the less highly profiled biennales which are gaining importance in giving a truly global perspective of current trends and preoccupations in visual art and culture. Documenta X, The M unster Sculpture Project and the Venice Biennale were joined in 1997 by the Havana, Kwangju, Istanbul and the Johannesburg biennales, not to omit the smaller. Eastern European ones such as in Slovenia that are proliferating. 4 6 # N k a Jo ur nal of Co n t em p o r ar y Af r ican Art Johannesburg Biennale 2nd silva bisi 1 A or mega-exhibitions currently seem to be a prerequisite for any nation w anting to rejoin the global village. After decades of isolation. South Africa is another eager entrant w hose post-apartheid optimism and euphoria continues unabated. As a signal of its arrival on the international cultural scene. South Africa hosted its first in 1995, a landmark event that included over 250 artists from 80 countries. Under the artistic direction of the Nigerian born, American based Okwui Enwezor, the 2nd Johannesburg entitled "Trade Routes: History and Geography", takes the concept of "global traffic in culture" as its curatorial and philosophical point of departure. Biennale Biennale Biennales Above: Shirin Neshat, Anchorage, 1997, video inst allat ion, phot o: Werner Maschmann. Opposite: Ernesto Pujol, Saturn's Table, 1996, mixed media installation, photo: Werner Maschmann. Sp r i n g / Su m m e r 1 9 9 8 Nk a » 4 7 Jocelyn Taylor, Alien at Rest , 1996, video still, photo: Werner Maschrrtann. V e e r i n g a wa y f ro m the t radit io nal f o rmat o f b ie n n ale s b as e d o n nat io nal pavilio ns, wh i c h inevit ab ly reinf o rc e the b i n ar y axis o f ric h /po o r, de ve lo p e d/ un de r de ve l o pe d, W e s t e r n / n o n W e s t e r n , E n we z o r de c ide d to c o llab o rat e wi t h six int ernat io nal c urat o rs : K ellie J o n e s , G e r ar do M o s q ue r a, O c t avio Z aya, H o u H an r u, C o lin R ic h ar ds and Y u Y e o n K im. T h e y we r e invit ed to e n gage wi t h and re spo n d to the disc o urses e n ge n de r e d in " T r a de R o ut e s " suc h as p o s t m o de r n i s m , po st c o lo nialism, po pular c ult ure, mult ic ult uralism an d issues o f ident it y that take int o c o nsiderat io n rac ial, c ult ural, h is to ric al, ge n de r an d sexual dif f erenc es. T h e result is a s malle r b ie n n ale in wh i c h we are present ed wi t h a series o f v e r y dive rs e exhib it io ns c o nsist ing o f an ar r ay o f wo r k s in a var ie t y o f m e di a f ro m o ve r 145 artists f ro m 35 c o unt ries. I nst allat io n- b ased c o nc ept ual art o ve r wh e...