White City 

 

Ashley Walters

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Artist Statement

 

The exhibition White City by Ashley Walters takes a departure from his interest in domesticity to explore notions of inherit violence through experimenting with form and colour. White City is the name given by the community in south side Elsies River, Cape Town. In this exhibition, White City refers to both a physical space and a historical landscape.

Your daily dose of ultra-violence, a term coined by Anthony Burgess in his book A Clockwork Orange, becomes reality, in other words, to be subjugated by it means you are considered normal here. Walking in White City you are forced to carry the demeanor of an instigator in order to survive anarchy. Hoping each new day will be as forgiving as the last.

As in a reoccurring dream, the world appears tinted red. This landscape remains unforgiving and ruthless. A few bodies scatter to hide from a home invasion in an upside down non-space.

Through sculpture, video, and photography, Walters hints at moments lived in an unpredictable place called home. The exhibition includes a collaborative work by artist Scott Eric Williams.