GALLERY: Art reflections at Alliance Française

Artist Marion Boehm recently exhibited her latest art show at the Alliance Française in Johannesburg entitled Ubuntu Reflections.

The exhibition aimed to express a host of identities through the use of different art mediums. Boehm made use of collages, using various materials such as paper, cloth and charcoal. She displayed strong characters on a background of these circus posters.

Boehm explained the reasons behind her exhibition. “I chose these old circus billboards from France because in former days people were exhibited around the early 1900s. I’m glad those ways of doing things are over. The usage of these posters serve as a reminder of this type of exhibition. I loved making use of unique fabrics with the portraits,” she said.

My husband is from Barcelona, so we are very influenced by Spanish designs and patterns which I have incorporated in some of my work. I just want to make a general call for my spectators to appreciate diversity instead of kicking against it. I think we are far beyond ancient times where foreign people were exhibited as strangers and stared at in shows,” she concluded.

The director of Alliance Française, Jean Bourdin was pleased at the opportunity to host Boehm’s exhibition. “The subject matter of the exhibition is an interesting but difficult one. It is not the kind of exhibition that we normally display. Nevertheless, I think we are in a time of trouble, the world is really full of tension and this exhibition is a very strong positive statement about a part of our past that we all have to face,” he said.

Details: Alliance Française Johannesburg 011 646 1169.