Delicates

Paul Marais
Stellenbosch

Digital video
201 seconds
Edition: 1/5

In this work, the constructed nature of culture and systems within society are of prime importance. The stop motion technique is employed in this piece to formulate a narrative that emphasises the constructed nature of the environment on display. Two-dimensional drawing elements, three-dimensional objects and sound recordings are combined to create a play between the fictional and the non-fictional and to challenge perception.

The post-apartheid South African landscape is still rife with discrimination, communication breakdowns and inequality. This piece aims to construct an allegory with the characters of the glove, the washing machine, the basin and socks in order to bring attention to the delicate situation the country finds itself in. The chalkboards in the background also have connotations to the educational system that sets the scene for this allegory. The glove, which is the antagonist in the piece, represents the systems and ideologies responsible for separating people from one another. The socks and the washing machine function in harmony if all parties involved are considered as ‘delicates’. Eventually, the intolerant glove destroys the entire environment when the rebellion of the other characters challenges it. This narrative thus offers both a warning and a hopeful message for a more sensitive and inclusive country.

Paul Marais, born in 1986, grew up in the small Western Cape town of Porterville, South Africa. He qualified and worked in the Information Technology sector before pursuing his studies in the Visual Arts. The worlds of cinema and music, as well as the urban landscape, are major contributors to the visual language that he employs. Drawing, painting, printmaking and the video medium are the primary means through which he explores personal narratives that ask existential questions. Marais is currently a third year Fine Art student at Stellenbosch University.