Nine works by three painters presented in anticipation of Vela Projects’ gallery opening on the 9th of December 2023.

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NOZUKO MADOKWE presents Kora Kham (2023), Ukufihlakala kweLanga (2023) and Nolitye (2023).

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In the artist’s first presentation with a gallery, Madokwe showcases her paintings of natural pigments on canvas.

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Her abstract forms, the result of multiple layers and coverings, represent an extract taken from the earth. When constructing the painting, Madokwe uses herself as a mirror to the earth and its natural beauty – “to explore more colour, to imagine, to compose, to discover the rhythm and play.”

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Her interest in earth (‘umhlaba’ in isiXhosa) is seen in every step of her process. She hikes the mountains in her proximity, gathering materials to later process, refine and combine with various natural mediums to create paint. She documents where and how she has collected the pigments, creating a geographic ledger. In this body of work, the pigments were found primarily around Rhodes Memorial.

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The artist is deeply inspired by indigenous knowledge around natural earth-mediums, such as the application of earth on the face and body for skincare, protection from the sun, healing and ceremonial purposes. Her medium facilitates an implicit conversation around South African cultures and communities’ relationship to land. Her approach is “to re-document these histories of land, not approaching them via pain, but rather exploring how we express and have expressed ourselves through colour.”

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Madokwe is not only interested in earth in the physical sense. She questions what ancient technology, techniques and knowledge, contained in the earth itself, can to show us. Prompted by its decay, she asks how we can give back. In a sense, her paintings are a performance of honour, lifting the earth from the ground to the wall.

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In reconstituting the pigments and fossils of the rock, Madokwe expresses a careful manner of interacting with the natural world. As a cultural and natural archivist, Madokwe seeks “a recognition of the beauty, harmony and communion sought in the maintenance of indigenous visual languages”. Her paintings become an expression of the artists interest in humans’ relationship with the earth, and provide an analgoue of the environment’s delicate balance.

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SONGEZO ZANTSI presents Linda (2023), Imizamo 2 (2023) and Imizamo 3 (2023).

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Three new paintings deal with social scenes photographed by the artist in Cape Town and translated onto canvas in oil paints.

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Inspired by Impressionist and Realist painters such as Courbet, Manet, Sickert and Degas, Zantsi aims to reflect, without judgement, the social realities that construct life in the city. His paintings document everyday realities and build a visual archive – measured through the artist’s unique style – of contemporary life in South Africa.

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Whereas previous bodies of work were based on archival images, these paintings reference images photographed by the artist himself, reflecting a new introduction to the artist’s practice.

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What remains consistent is Zantsi’s grappling with the social and cultural realities of life in South Africa. His eye is compassionate and looks over the urban landscape, drawing out images that reflect the quiet and sober moments amongst the busy forces of city life.

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Linda (2023) for example, depicts a carpenter having a contem- plative moment standing and smoking a cigarette . Imizamo 3 (2023) features an antiques dealer being offered a piece for consideration by a hopeful seller while a man rests on a pillar alongside. As the artist states, “across these images you will find men in the city who are trying to make means. ‍There are many things that a viewer can take. One thing I can say for the viewer is to enjoy the pictures as something that offers a window into what we are currently living in in the City of Cape Town. That’s the aim of me doing the pictures that I am doing.”

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ALEXIS SCHOFIELD presents Lounge Scene (2023), Lift Scene (2023) and Still Life (2023).

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Representing a crossover point in the artist’s practice – between images referenced off social media and images photographed by the artist – these three artworks mark, “a new direction in my painting” – namely the advent of the artist’s photographic practice.

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Despite this departure, the central concern of Schofield’s practice thus far remains: social scenes with figures who are seemingly alone despite the proximity of their interaction. The figures appear disengaged with each other, absorbed in them- selves. With these paintings Schofield presents a lurid colour palette of harsh yellow, pink and teal. The figures, as a result, exist in a world which is fragmented and anxious.

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Together with the individualised palette, there are a variety of techniques employed on the canvas including washes, pours, inks and direct painting. Embodying a similar magical and ma- cabre style to contemporary artists such as Peter Doig, Daniel Richter and Marlene Dumas, Schofield enjoys the various ma- terial possibilities of painting on canvas through the explorative use of mediums.

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Despite the bold use of colour and techniques, there is a compositional balance that is suggested in each image through the use of converging directional lines. The environment seems to reflect desire for the figures to close the distance between them. In Schofield’s depiction however, they are unable.

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