Runner Up - conceptual intervention

The central theme of my work is the ownership of public space and property in South Africa at present. As self explanatory as the term "Public Space" may seem, the reality is that stringent laws (whether legally or socially generated) are often imposed, by both the private and public sector, on public spaces which inhibit the way in which the public occupies these spaces.

My work often takes the form of public interventions and simple actions that question who the real owner/s of public space is. In one example of my work, using reflective cones and danger tape, I demarcated a section of a Street lane in a business district so as to limit the flow of traffic and I then advertised the space for sale.

Interested parties (in theory) could then call the number attached to the advertisement to enquire about the property for sale. As an extension of this, my proposed work for the Sasol New Signatures exhibition moves out of the public domain into the gallery but still seeks to raise questions pertaining to ownership, this time specifically the ownership of intellectual property. I propose that my name be inserted into every label of the works on exhibition and that I receive a special mention before the commencement of all performance works (without the consent or knowledge of the artists) so as to be credited as a collaborative partner in the creation of the works. In this way I question the (sole) ownership of an artwork by its creator. The work asserts that artworks emerge as a result of social engagement and interaction. It therefore, promotes social production of art as opposed to singular production and authorship. The work is also in direct contrast to individualized scholarship - a Western approach where individual authorship is power and claims to knowledge are competitive. This places my work very much in a post-modern frame that undermines the prevailing notion of artistic genius.

In my view, my conceptual investment into the works makes it only fair that I should be credited as the co-creator and co-owner of the works on show.

In conclusion, the proposed work opposes the long standing and exclusive acceptance of object-based art as art by the South African art community. My work also raises several other very important questions:

How far can one push the boundaries of accepted conventions? How accepting are artists when their very identities as singular creators and owners of the very work they produced are unsettled?

In my view I have answered the competition's calls for new and innovative work, though, I concede that in some ways my work challenges the precepts upon which the competition itself is hinged. It remains to be seen if the New Signatures Competition itself will, by including my intervention, challenge the accepted exhibition/gallery practices.