KEVIN COLLINS, 2018
THE PICNIC
100cm x 100cm
Oil on Canvas
COLLEN MASWANGANYI 2022
CASH INJECTION
Corkwood and Acrylic
ELISA IANNACONE
NMCH series: Come, Let's Play (Toolong re Bapaleng)
Hahnemule Photo Rag Baryta on diasec
Edition of 5 (1200 x 800mm)
Edition of 10 (600 x 420mm)
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WORLDS OF WHIMSY was the title of the Africa Contemporary (ACA) stand, at TURBINE ART FAIR 2022.
The three artists who were on exhibition are accomplished creators of WORLDS OF WHIMSY.
Each artist: photographer Elisa Iannacone, ceramicist Kevin Collins, and sculptor, Collen Maswanganyi, 'playing' in different media, create whimsical worlds, drawn from reality, talking about reality and reinventing reality - with whimsy and wit. All three are drawn by a love of humanity, and a tolerance for human foibles.
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While Elisa Iannacone transforms the lives of her subjects into magnificent, heroic, contemporary mythical spectacles, for Collins and Maswanganyi, the subjects of their work are figments of their creative imaginings:
ELISA IANNACONE
CARNIVAL
NMCH series: Come, Let's Play (Toolong re Bapaleng)
Hahnemule Photo Rag Baryta on diasec
Edition of 5 (1200 x 800mm)
Edition of 10 (600 x 420mm)
​
ELISA IANNACONE
NMCH series: Come, Let's Play (Toolong re Bapaleng)
Hahnemule Photo Rag Baryta on diasec
Edition of 5 (1200 x 800mm)
Edition of 10 (600 x 420mm)
​
To celebrate the five year anniversary of the NELSON MANDELA CHILDREN'S HOSPITAL, AFRICA CONTEMPORARY ART collaborated with the team at NMCH and the NELSON MANDELA CHILDREN’S FUND to create five photographic portraits of five young patients - four renal dialysis patients who spend four days per week at their "home-from-home", and one cardiac patient. The project was titled: ' Come Let's Play! (Tloong Re Bapaleng!)'.
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Photographer, Elisa Iannacone met with each child, and talked - and played - with them to
tease out their hopes, dreams and desires into a realisable dreams-cape. Iannacone transformed the hospital beds and wards into fantasy-scapes - from balloon flights; to carnivals; a world of cakes; a car racing through space; or a dance in a fashion heaven. The resulting portraits at play are filled with hope, joy, whimsy and delight – for both the children (and families), and the viewer. Each work is a testimony to the care that encompasses the NMCH professional ethos.
We are privileged to have been able to work with the dedicated team on our project which debuts at this year's TAF2022... and continues through the year on- and off-line.
Sculptor COLLEN MASWANGANYI'S satirical play on, and with, socio-political and religious conventions, is carved into painted wooden sculptural totems, drawn from reality.
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For ceramicist, KEVIN COLLINS, centuries of cultural and aesthetic references provide witty allusions for his allegorical ceramic portraits. Kevin’s whimsical daily meanderings on clay are visual fables of comedic myth and imagination. Kiln-fired stoneware showpieces, they are a contemporary take on the ornamental porcelain plate of yesteryear
KEVIN COLLINS 2022
LE MASQUE
LUCKY ALPHONSE
BOUDICEA
Ceramic stoneware plate
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Ongoing:
A percentage of proceeds of purchases from AFRICA CONTEMPORARY ART from the WORLDS OF WHIMSY exhibition benefit the
NELSON MANDELA CHILDREN'S HOSPITAL
to commemorate their 5-year anniversary
"Each of us, as citizens, has a role to play in creating a better world for our children."
Nelson Mandela at luncheon hosted by Kofi Anan: Special UN Session for Children, 2002.
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