From the 30th of August to the 6th of October 2012 the CIRCA on Jellicoe, Rosebank, Johannesburg will showcase a Solo exhibition by Wayne Barker entilted Love Land.
In his latest body of work Barker builds on ideas of his own artistic history largely made up of work dealing with the politics of representation in terms of the South African landscape. The title of the exhibition Love Land alludes to the landscape as a product of deviant sexuality, a love child or bastard. Barker states that:”I am interested in how the media, through popular images, inform, confuse and rape the African continent. For the past two decades I have also been dealing with land, which is quite trendy now. My approach has been to deconstruct the icons of South African painting, particularly works by Pierneef.” The show features a selection of works that carry many of Barker’s trademarks namely: his use of neon signage, expressionist gestures juxtaposed by neatly outlined African pop imagery, the use of digital manipulation and incorporation of traditional South African craft. The show also investigates the process of barkers work giving insight into his studio practice.
