Art exhibition To See Them Home is currently exhibiting at The Blue House
Interdisciplinary artist Oupa Sibeko's inspiration for his exhibition, To See Them Home, part of the Ice Ice Baby project, was play.
David Krut Projects unveiled interdisciplinary artist Oupa Sibeko’s exhibition: To See Them Home, part of the Ice Ice Baby project, on February 8 at The Blue House in Parkwood.
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The Ice Ice Baby project was created when Sibeko took part in a scholarship project, in association with David Krut Projects, in the cotton mill town of Leipzig, Germany, in 2023.
The exhibition included unique prints, one of which was a 6m long abstract image printed from a copper plate that had been etched with ice skates.
The Wits graduate said play inspired his work. “I was raised by my grandmother, who suffered a stroke, but before she passed on, she said: ‘Don’t forget to play’, so, my work is centred around not forgetting to play, while looking at the beauty in the ugly.”
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Sibeko added that he viewed playing as interaction with people, coming together with people, and building a community with people who were driven by the spirit of being themselves.
When asked why he chose blue ink to dominate his art, he said: “I used blue because it is a spiritual colour, and associated with water ancestors, which I resonate deeply with.”
It is through African indigenous knowledge that Sibeko understands and unpacks his artistic practice.
The exhibition is happening until February 22.
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