Taxi art is rad
MIDRAND – Taxi South Africa, based in Randjespark Estate, hosted their annual art awards on 7 April.
SA Taxi Foundation Art Award winner, Audrey Anderson, is a demure woman who has managed to capture the hustle and bustle of taxi commuting in her art piece, Commute Quest, which is on display at Lizamore and Associates’ gallery.
Anderson said she wanted to capture the hectic lifestyle of commuters as a spectator. “I asked two men to record their daily commute using a camera,” Anderson said.
“They are both foreigners living in South Africa. The one who has been here the longest captured the [dread of commuting] for me, while the other’s photos were more like a tourist taking pictures.”
She said this gave her insight into the men’s perspectives about taxi commuting. Anderson added that because the second man had been in the country for a short period of time, he could still enjoy the novelty of travelling in a taxi and he captured happy moments rather than capturing a long queue waiting for transport.
The SA Taxi Foundation Art Award was founded in 2014 and it allows artists to support and foster creativity. The foundation’s director of corporate affairs, Bonisile Makubalo, said entrants were encouraged to use fine art and graphic design to produce an art piece that embodies the experience of using minibus taxis and the commuters.
The five finalists received cash prizes and the gallery curates their artwork.
The hostess of this year’s awards, Lebo Mashile, said she liked the idea of the two industries merging in this way.
Watch Midrand Reporter’s interview with Audrey Anderson:
