The Royal Academy of Arts held an exhibition for William Kentridge and his marvelous pieces of work. Being one of South Africa’s most prominent artists, this exhibition held work spanning over the last 40 years of his career- with a multitude of different mediums and stories portrayed. Between etching, drawing, collage, films, sculptures, tapestry, theater, dance and music, he really executed all of his themes and shared a story for the audience to hold onto.
With themes like conflict, loss, and growth, you feel heavy emotions into each room you walk into and feel the message he wanted to share. With his work spanning over 40 years, some of the themes and work, even though many years ago can be applicable today personally to many. With his work leaning on a political standpoint, this exhibition provides a lot of “comfort” and relatable elements to the viewers that are appreciating his work. Drawing from his own life experiences, sharing what it was like growing up in the era he did in the place he did he is portraying an entire story for how much he overcame and sending messages with every stroke of the brush and every mark on a paper.
The first thing I noticed when entering every room was the thought provoking details he included in each of his pieces. Looking from a far, then looking closer and seeing how meticulous he was with everything he placed in the medium he was using shows how talented he was and how unique his techniques were.
What has to this day stuck with me from visiting his exhibition was how he made his art come to life. Not being a huge fan of films in exhibitions, he made what I do not particularly enjoy- enjoyable. Making one’s art come to life when you know the attachment the artist has with each and every single piece of work is really admirable. Looking through binoculars onto a flat sheet of paper and seeing that paper become 3D and imitate real life was something I had never seen before and something of extreme talent and praise.