Moshekwa Langa South African, b. 1975
Wydhoek (drag), 2016
Acrylic, inks, iridescent pigment, threads, earth and transparent lyca
141.5 x 175.5 cm
55 3/4 x 69 1/8 in
55 3/4 x 69 1/8 in
Courtesy of the Artist and Lawrie Shabibi
Moshekwa Langa's 'Drag Paintings' are considered a record and mapping of the town of Bakenberg, South Africa, where Langa grew up. This rural town, was not included on most apartheid-era...
Moshekwa Langa's 'Drag Paintings' are considered a record and mapping of the town of Bakenberg, South Africa, where Langa grew up. This rural town, was not included on most apartheid-era maps and went through a period of dramatic change with the growth of platinum mining industries in the area.
The paintings are created from impressions of a dirt road and worked into the canvas using tape, tar and sandpaper. In his practice, Langa uses materials from his immediate surroundings to record his own history and emotions.
BIOGRAPHY
Moshekwa Langa (b. 1975, Bakenberg, South Africa) is an Amsterdam-based artist whose indexical, materially sensitive practice spans drawing, installation, video, and photography, often using found and everyday materials to map his own biography and the psychological borders shaped by his upbringing in an apartheid-era “Homeland.” His large-scale, dreamlike works on paper emerge from layers of marks, collage, and gesture, creating visualizations of memories, events, and emotions that resist language. Langa has had solo exhibitions at KM21, The Hague (2022), Kunsthalle Bern, Modern Art Oxford, The Renaissance Society in Chicago, and the Krannert Art Museum, and has taken part in major international exhibitions including the 10th Berlin Biennale, 13th Dakar Biennale, the Lyon Biennale (2011), the Venice Biennale (2003, 2009), the Bienal de São Paulo (1998, 2010), and the Johannesburg Biennale (1997). His work is held in key public collections such as the Museum of Modern Art, New York; the Walker Art Center, Minneapolis; the Studio Museum in Harlem; the Art Institute of Chicago; Tate Modern, London; and the Johannesburg Art Gallery.
The paintings are created from impressions of a dirt road and worked into the canvas using tape, tar and sandpaper. In his practice, Langa uses materials from his immediate surroundings to record his own history and emotions.
BIOGRAPHY
Moshekwa Langa (b. 1975, Bakenberg, South Africa) is an Amsterdam-based artist whose indexical, materially sensitive practice spans drawing, installation, video, and photography, often using found and everyday materials to map his own biography and the psychological borders shaped by his upbringing in an apartheid-era “Homeland.” His large-scale, dreamlike works on paper emerge from layers of marks, collage, and gesture, creating visualizations of memories, events, and emotions that resist language. Langa has had solo exhibitions at KM21, The Hague (2022), Kunsthalle Bern, Modern Art Oxford, The Renaissance Society in Chicago, and the Krannert Art Museum, and has taken part in major international exhibitions including the 10th Berlin Biennale, 13th Dakar Biennale, the Lyon Biennale (2011), the Venice Biennale (2003, 2009), the Bienal de São Paulo (1998, 2010), and the Johannesburg Biennale (1997). His work is held in key public collections such as the Museum of Modern Art, New York; the Walker Art Center, Minneapolis; the Studio Museum in Harlem; the Art Institute of Chicago; Tate Modern, London; and the Johannesburg Art Gallery.
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