Outside the white cube, art learns to breathe again

My university introduction to the art world positioned the city as the heart of art, although now, the landscape faces strange and disheartening shifts. In less than a year, the industry has witnessed the closure of a few prominent Johannesburg galleries including Guns & Rain, STEVENSON and Kalashnikovv and the censorship of Gabrielle Goliath’s representation for the South African pavilion at the 61st Venice Biennale by Minister of Sport, Arts and Culture Gayton McKenzie. The case of the minister pulling funds is synonymous with other long-standing events of significance such as the National Arts Festival, Klein Karoo National Arts Festival, Joy of Jazz and Open Book Festival. What happens when we decentralise city art institutions and our dependency on them? In April I saw an invitation to the group exhibition Experiment. Introduce. Enjoy by artist manager and consultant Togo Langa. The concept aimed to explore an art exhibition space and the idea of process and experimentation. A line that caught my attention: “How does one continue doing what works without being held captive to the point of stagnation?” Since there are minimal spaces that give ground for experimentation, most of what we engage with is the final product, leaving us caught in a conundrum of perfection. The invitation had the courage to denounce perfection and welcome play and the unknown into the process of making and engaging with art. A bit hesitant about an almost three-hour drive from the city to the location given in the form of GPS coordinates, I pondered on the trip for a week until a friend mentioned she got her ticket. We finalised our arrangements and on a Saturday morning, we were on the N4 highway to North West. The break from the city’s compact landscape was occupied with roadworks and vast mountain outlines of blue hues on the horizon. The sight of bright sunflower fields gave assurance that I made the right decision. After getting a little lost, we reached our destination at the home of “Kwa Langa” and were welcomed by Langa and his niece. As we entered, a huge candelabra tree, indigenous to most parts of southern Africa stood, as a monument. The tree was accompanied by Mankebe Seakgoe’s work, When the Sky Opened up and Swallowed us Whole (2023), erupting with strokes of blue and black tones, mimicking the dance of white clouds in the background. This was one of four, where two-dimensional works were hung on purpose-built white walls at different points on the property, along with three-dimensional works. The group exhibition consisted of indoor and outdoor installations but I wish to draw focus to the outside space. I’ve experienced a sculpture park before but this was different, an eccentric experience — an experiment. My museum background leapt to the fore at the absence of a temperature-controlled climate and a fluctuating harmony of the hot sun and gentle breeze. Footsteps or a cough echoing in silence were replaced by the sound of a cow bell in the distance, laughter and a literal breath of fresh air. I observed how the environment threw the concept of the white cube out the window, dissolving walls, leaving the eye to wonder, to consider spatial awareness and the influence it has on the reading of the works. The outdoor exhibition drew us to a beaming orange cube on a metal stand, filled with an arrangement of collage compositions. Ke teng (2026), which loosely translates to “I’m here”, by Keabetswe Seema, is an artwork I would describe as sculptural. Shadows enhanced its geometric characteristics. Above left: Keabetswe Seema’s Keteng (2026) a collage using oil and acrylic on wood and perspex. Above right: Njabulo Hlope’s A Plesant Surprise: The Gift of a New Day (2026), an oil pastel collage on Fabriano. Seema’s practice has evolved in an exploratory manner since my first encounter with her work in 2023, at the School of Arts graduation exhibition at the University of Pretoria. Seema’s compositions include the use of paper cut-outs and paint as a means to achieve a built environment seen through the three-dimensional object. The orange Perspex puts a tint to the viewer’s perspective of the figures, while a small circular cut-out gives a glimpse of the work without the orange tint. The composition encourages an intimate observation of female figures in domestic spaces of work and leisure. Juxtapositions of different environments open conversation to intricacies in relation to the presence of black women in history and culture. Seema’s placement of her likeness alongside other subjects in her work is a visual and conceptual demonstration of how she remains in conversation with her own work. Caught in the novelty of the exhibition environment, we shared a table with others where we chatted about the ways in which the environment affected our reading of the works. Apart from a delay in the programme’s schedule, I appreciat