The many layers of Mary Magdalene
AUCKLAND PARK – UJ exhibits the works of Majak Bredell.
Majak Bredell’s artwork will be exhibited at the University of Johannesburg Arts & Culture, Gallery.
Entitled Codex Magdalene, the art, which is based on the many facets of Mary Magdalene will be on exhibition from 10 August to 7 September.
Mary Magdalene attracted many and varied interpretations, ecclesiastic projections and pronouncements on women, the female body, sin, repentance and redemption. Bredell strips this iconic figure of the layers of meaning that have been attached to her through the course of two millennia, while simultaneously replacing some layers or adding other meanings to create a quilt of many diverse and even contradictory patches.
Included in this exhibition is the transcription of many notes and ideas, comprising over a hundred single folios, entitled Codex Magdalene. A further section named Monuments Magdalene comprises larger works, both older and new.
“I view Mary Magdalene as a hybrid figure who belongs to both Christianity and to the deeper layers of the pagan past. My interest in, and research into, the marginalised – represented by the goddess, the witch, and the female body – are all brought to bear on my exploration and re-interpretations of this enigmatic woman. As I separate out the many layers of thought that have shrouded Mary Magdalene, I find that she cannot be pinned down and that her figure remains ever-changing,” concluded Bredell.
Details: University of Johannesburg Faculty of Art, Design and Architecture, 011 559 4555.
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