Exhibit features South African HIV/AIDS art

  UCLA Fowler Museum From Fowler’s new exhibit "Break the
Silence," "Imbenge" by Nombuso Nikwanyana, portrays the threat of
HIV/AIDS to a Zulu community.

“Break the Silence: Art and HIV/AIDS in South
Africa” UCLA Fowler Museum of Cultural History Through April
28, 2002

Bright red banners encompass the outside walls of “Break
the Silence,” an art exhibit at the Fowler Museum responding
to the HIV/AIDS crisis in South Africa. In South Africa, where
about four million people are HIV positive, the KwaZulu-Natal
province contains the world’s most rapidly growing population
of people infected with HIV. Still, the epidemic remains veiled in
mystery and taboo. Infected women especially are known to
withhold their illnesses and avoid treatment because they fear
persecution from their family and society. However, art allows
people to illuminate, cope and share beliefs and feelings about the
devastation of HIV/AIDS. The exhibition is divided into three
parts, representing works from artists of different community-based
arts initiatives in South Africa. One of these initiatives consists
of hand-painted banners, originally displayed during the 13th
International AIDS Conference in Durban, KwaZulu-Natal.
Establishing tones of desperation and hope, one banner displays
human figures squatting, kneeling and dancing with their heads
bowed or looking to the sky among the slogan, “AIDS Has No
Race, Age, Sex, or Creed.” On another, footprints point in
the direction of the AIDS acronym, spelling out “Africa Is
Destined to Survive.” The most striking works in the exhibit
were brought about through a program called Siyazama, the
KwaZulu-Natal HIV/AIDS Rural Craft and Awareness Project. In these
workshops, artists use traditional Zulu beadwork and basketry
techniques as inspiration. Next to the pieces are cards where
guest-curator Carol Brown translates the artist’s rendition
of their work. One such example is a mixed media diptych called
“Ukuhlukunyezwa Ngocansi (Sexual Harassment) Tableau”
by Gabi Gabi Nzama. The first piece shows two beaded doll
sculptures, a male Sangoma healer and a female who has come to him
for treatment. Both dolls, ornamented with vividly colored beads,
express a feeling of anxiety. The healer holds a razor blade up in
the air, ready to cut her so he can place medicine in the open
wound. He stands facing her with an erect penis. The second
part of the diptych shows them having sex. Although this work
expresses feelings of helplessness and pain, it also boldly makes a
statement that women are the most likely to be threatened by
HIV/AIDS in South Africa. Contrast this piece with a traditional
example of a Zulu beaded doll (also on display at the exhibit),
which is normally associated with fertility or marriage. The doll
stands erect, without facial features, and its colors are muted and
earthy. Another notable medium on display from the Siyazama program
is the imbenge, the Zulu term for grass-woven beer pot covers,
bowls and baskets. Rather than weaving grass, these artists use an
array of brightly colored telephone wire to send messages about the
epidemic. The use of telephone wire began in the 1950s. According
to the placard, artists were known to cut their art supplies from
telegraph wire, until it became so popular that it was manufactured
particularly for their use. This act of cutting from the lines
stifled colonial communications, and at the same time, created an
outlet for socially conscious art. Sarah Ndlovu’s imbenge,
“Dog Bite,” is a beer pot cover displaying the image of
a dog and a cat with HIV embroidered across the top. According
to the description provided, the artist is questioning the
possibility of dog bites spreading HIV. Ndlovu’s imbenge,
like many of the works on display here, show concerns about
HIV/AIDS in an uncompromising way. Although brightly colored and
attractive, the works always communicate a sense of horror. At the
same time, they convey a desperation to try working through the
reality of this epidemic. The third initiative in the exhibition is
the HIV/AIDS Billboard and Print Portfolio Project, consisting of
various printmaking approaches from South African and international
artists. The drawback in this section of the exhibit is that the
names of the artists and the titles of the pieces are not provided.
One memorable print is of a scuffed-up brick wall graffitied with
words like “abandoned” and “diseased.” The
word “blood” in small letters is scrawled upside down,
suggesting the stigma attached to people who carry the virus. Large
black letters streak down the front of the wall, commanding and
pleading, “Break the Silence.” As a whole, the
exhibition fills only one small room (not including the banners on
the outside). However, the works and the information on display are
enough to provide a much needed glimpse at art in South Africa and
its relationship to HIV/AIDS.

Sara Mortimer