Bronwyn Katz South African, b. 1993
xanu (wade), 2025
Copper-coated mild steel, twine, copper wire
105 x 94 x 37 cm
41 3/8 x 37 x 14 5/8 in
41 3/8 x 37 x 14 5/8 in
Courtesy of the Artist and Lawrie Shabibi
Bronwyn Katz’s wire rain curtains, 'xanu (wade)' and '!ãmã (flow)', form part of an evolving system of notation developed through her broader practice—an attempt to articulate the phonetics of an...
Bronwyn Katz’s wire rain curtains, 'xanu (wade)' and '!ãmã (flow)', form part of an evolving system of notation developed through her broader practice—an attempt to articulate the phonetics of an imagined creole language. This speculative language acts as both cultural and linguistic reclamation, drawing from fragmentary histories and oral traditions that resist dominant archival systems.
Crafted from copper-coated carbon steel and hemp twine, the sculptures resemble delicate “curtains of rain,” evoking the rhythm of rain striking a metal roof—an acoustic memory of domestic life. In transforming sound into form, Katz renders rain as both symbol and structure, a poetic gesture of continuity and renewal.
Rain, for Katz, is cleansing and healing. Copper, a natural conductor and traditional agent of wound healing, mirrors water’s transformative and regenerative power. Together, material and meaning converge as metaphors for restoration—bodily, historical, and spiritual.
By encoding imagined phonemes and ritual gestures into sculpture, Katz proposes new systems of memory and knowledge that counter colonial erasure. Her rain curtains embody a language beyond text—rooted in the body, land, and shared experience—inviting viewers into a space where sound, matter, and memory flow together in the reimagining of the South African archive.
BIOGRAPHY
Katz was born in 1993 in Kimberley, South Africa. They live and work between Cape Town and Johannesburg. Incorporating sculpture, installation, video and performance, Katz’s practice engages with the concept of land as a repository of memory and trauma, reflecting on the notion of place or space as lived experience, and the ability of the land to remember and communicate the memory of its occupation.
Recent solo exhibitions include 'Kaeen-de-haree, Lively sunshine', Andrew Kreps, New York (2023); 'Tus tsĩ ǀxurub, Rain and drought', MASSIMODECARLO, Paris (2023); 'I turn myself into a star and visit my loved ones in the sky', White Cube, London (2021); 'Salvaged Letter', Peres Projects, Berlin (2019); / // ! ǂ, blank projects, Cape Town (2019) and 'A Silent Line, Lives Here', Palais de Tokyo, Paris (2018).
Katz has featured in group exhibitions including 'The Milk of Dreams', the 59th International Art Exhibition of the Venice Biennale (2022); 'Soft Water, Hard Stone', the New Museum Triennial, New York (2021); the Future Generation Art Prize exhibition, PinchukArtCentre, Kyiv (2021); 'Upkeep: Everyday Strategies of Care', The Arts Club of Chicago (2020); 'We Aim to Live', Zuzeum Art Centre, Riga (2020); NIRIN, 22nd Biennale of Sydney (2020); 'Là où les eaux se mêlent', 15th Biennale de Lyon (2019) and 'Material Insanity', Museum of African Contemporary Art Al Maaden, Marrakech (2019).
In 2022 Katz was selected as a protégé for the Rolex Mentor and Protege Arts Initiative, set to work with El Anatsui over a period of two years. They were shortlisted for the Future Generation Art Prize in 2021 and recieved the First National Bank Art Prize in 2019. Katz is a founding member of iQhiya, an 11-women artist collective which has performed across various spaces, including Documenta (in Kassel and Athens), Greatmore Studios, and Iziko South African National Gallery.
Born in 1993, in Kimberley, South Africa, Katz lives and works between Cape Town and Johannesburg.
Crafted from copper-coated carbon steel and hemp twine, the sculptures resemble delicate “curtains of rain,” evoking the rhythm of rain striking a metal roof—an acoustic memory of domestic life. In transforming sound into form, Katz renders rain as both symbol and structure, a poetic gesture of continuity and renewal.
Rain, for Katz, is cleansing and healing. Copper, a natural conductor and traditional agent of wound healing, mirrors water’s transformative and regenerative power. Together, material and meaning converge as metaphors for restoration—bodily, historical, and spiritual.
By encoding imagined phonemes and ritual gestures into sculpture, Katz proposes new systems of memory and knowledge that counter colonial erasure. Her rain curtains embody a language beyond text—rooted in the body, land, and shared experience—inviting viewers into a space where sound, matter, and memory flow together in the reimagining of the South African archive.
BIOGRAPHY
Katz was born in 1993 in Kimberley, South Africa. They live and work between Cape Town and Johannesburg. Incorporating sculpture, installation, video and performance, Katz’s practice engages with the concept of land as a repository of memory and trauma, reflecting on the notion of place or space as lived experience, and the ability of the land to remember and communicate the memory of its occupation.
Recent solo exhibitions include 'Kaeen-de-haree, Lively sunshine', Andrew Kreps, New York (2023); 'Tus tsĩ ǀxurub, Rain and drought', MASSIMODECARLO, Paris (2023); 'I turn myself into a star and visit my loved ones in the sky', White Cube, London (2021); 'Salvaged Letter', Peres Projects, Berlin (2019); / // ! ǂ, blank projects, Cape Town (2019) and 'A Silent Line, Lives Here', Palais de Tokyo, Paris (2018).
Katz has featured in group exhibitions including 'The Milk of Dreams', the 59th International Art Exhibition of the Venice Biennale (2022); 'Soft Water, Hard Stone', the New Museum Triennial, New York (2021); the Future Generation Art Prize exhibition, PinchukArtCentre, Kyiv (2021); 'Upkeep: Everyday Strategies of Care', The Arts Club of Chicago (2020); 'We Aim to Live', Zuzeum Art Centre, Riga (2020); NIRIN, 22nd Biennale of Sydney (2020); 'Là où les eaux se mêlent', 15th Biennale de Lyon (2019) and 'Material Insanity', Museum of African Contemporary Art Al Maaden, Marrakech (2019).
In 2022 Katz was selected as a protégé for the Rolex Mentor and Protege Arts Initiative, set to work with El Anatsui over a period of two years. They were shortlisted for the Future Generation Art Prize in 2021 and recieved the First National Bank Art Prize in 2019. Katz is a founding member of iQhiya, an 11-women artist collective which has performed across various spaces, including Documenta (in Kassel and Athens), Greatmore Studios, and Iziko South African National Gallery.
Born in 1993, in Kimberley, South Africa, Katz lives and works between Cape Town and Johannesburg.
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