Contemporary sculptor Bevan Blankenberg will showcase his art at the upcoming Investec Cape Town Art Fair to be held from 16 to 18 February at the Cape Town International Convention Centre (CTICC).
The 24-year-old from Brackenfell is the first of five artists who have completed the City of Cape Town’s emerging-artist programme who are hosting their own stand.
Blankenburg’s woodwork, bronze work and concrete structures have been described as transformative, with his childhood memories the conceptual point of departure.
“Through his work Blankenberg interrogates the themes of labour, masculinity, memory and violence through the materiality of sculpture,” said spokesperson Genie Vittu.
“He seeks to create a dialogue with empathy and understanding by subverting symbology associated with childhood and underground culture.”
Gang rows
Blankenberg said dogs and toys were an important part of his childhood.
“I would fashion improvised toys out of backyard materials, yet play time remained interrupted by gang rows. These led to kids either rebuking or glorifying the commotion, and almost always it was the latter.
“Dogs were a big part of my childhood, and I saw many come and go due to brutal, impromptu fights in neighbourhood parks. Dogs were forced to fight by their owners, either for small profits or street credit, which is a currency of ‘respect’.
“Along with blood money and the prevalence of toxic hypermasculinity, I and other kids became desensitised to violence. Toys were used to supplement the loss of my trust in my pets and distract me from the overall hostility, and hold onto whatever empathy I had left.”
He said his creative body of work implies a subtle violence that lurked in his community and still persists in many others.
“By creating toys that cannot be played with, the loss of innocence and vulnerability is the ideal analogy of a fighter dog which has been broken down.”
He says his art is a response to the men who played a significant role in his upbringing, poisoning the roots of healthy masculinity with blood sport and anti-social activities.
Blankenberg graduated at the Michaelis School of Fine Art at UCT, where he majored in sculpture and won the Michaelis Prize and Simon Gerson Award in his final year. He teaches sculpture part-time at UCT and has participated in a handful of group shows.
More than ever, Investec Cape Town Art Fair, on the theme “Unbound” will celebrate the city, enabling visitors to explore its artistic life and experience its cultural institutions, interacting with creatives.
