• Home
  • PERFORMANCE
  • VIDEO/INSTALLATIONS
  • OBJECTS
  • ABOUT
  • CONTACT

Feeds:
Posts
Comments

Artist statement

AP_150305_023

In my performances, videos and assorted artworks I map the ways in which my embodied interactions with the material world continuously alters my sense of self, place and belonging. For me, the body is not simply a vessel for the mind but an integral part of the performative, conceptual tools through which I come to have knowledge of the world. I understand the various personas that operate in my work as aspects of myself that are unlocked in relation to particular material environments and experiences.

I think art is both completely useless and absolutely necessary. It is part of the greater chaos from which it distills a focused moment of pure collaboration. By closely attending the particular experience of each these moments one may glimpse something of the dynamic force that animates all life. I believe we can critically evaluate and make sense of these experiences only by carefully observing the exact manner in which they link the body, the mind and the material world as part of a singular, performative plane. The results range from overtly violent scenarios to quietly introspective conceptual artworks.

These works combine gestures, materials and various modes of artistic expression into a changing body of work in which the artist is the only constant feature. However, in my work there exist no singular, fixed “I” but rather a dynamic i that is constantly evolving too.

Johan Thom (2014)

Key terms: performance art, conceptual art, materiality, the self, embodiment, political art, the body

FALLEN

Like this:

Like Loading...

  • Archives

  • Pages

    • PERFORMANCE
      • 2003: Bind/Ontbind Series
      • 2004-6: Outpost Series
      • 2006: The Theory of Gravity
      • 2008/9: Vox Populis/ Vox Dei
      • 2008: Come in peace/ Go to pieces (2008)
      • 2008: Traffic
      • 2008: Twilight
      • 2010-12: Incantation Series
      • 2010/11: Recital
      • 2010: Biblioclast (Action with Afrikaans/Dutch Dictionary)
      • 2010: Figurehead
      • 2010: Host 1
      • 2011: Container
      • 2011: Licked Colony
      • 2011: Thank you
      • 2013: For Linnaeus
      • Fountain (Date Withheld)
      • …other performances
    • VIDEO/INSTALLATIONS
      • 2002: The pencil test series
      • 2003: Violence and Happiness
      • 2004: The Labyrinth
      • 2005: The Minotaur Series 12
      • 2006: The Theory of Evolution
      • 2006: The Theory of Flight
      • 2007: Ascension
      • 2007: Birth of a Tyrant (2007)
      • 2007: Terms of endearment
      • 2008: Challenging Mud (After Kazuo Shiraga)
      • 2008: Outpost 4
      • 2008: The Theory of Displacement
      • 2009: Panopticon
      • 2010: blood rites/ eat your words
      • 2010: Host II
      • 2010: Illumination
      • 2010: Shellshock
      • 2011: Flow
      • 2019: Recital: Decoy
    • OBJECTS
      • 2007: Looking for Lucy
      • 2007: Molotovmammas
      • 2007: Philistine rules/ Did you know?
      • 2007: The OK Revolution
      • 2009: Vessel – Perfect Lovers
      • 2010: Gold works
      • 2010: Knobkierie
      • 2010: Recital (Lend me your ears)
      • 2010: Songbirds
      • 2011: Workhorse (with Guy Du Toit)
      • 2012: Fallen – monument for throwing…
      • 2013: The Animal Series
        • …….Collaborative large-scale etchings
        • …….Drawings
        • …….Mahout (video)
        • …….Photographs
        • …….Sculptures with Guy Du Toit
      • 2014-15: Faust the African Series
      • 2016: Promises, promises…
      • 2016: Selfportrait as an ass
      • 2016: Selfportrait with skull
      • 2017: The Hanging Garden
      • 2019: Houseboat
      • 2020: Houseboat #2
    • ABOUT
      • Artist statement
      • Press
      • Shortened CV
      • Interviews
        • 2003: Interview with Carine Zaayman
        • 2006: Interview with Willem Boshoff
        • 2007: Interview with David Koloane (2007)
        • 2008: Interview with Peter Machen
        • 2008: Radio Papesse Interview as part of ‘.za: Young Art From South Africa’
        • 2009: Johan Thom interviewed by Sarah Claire Picton
        • 2010: The ghosts wish to remember: Interview with Petra Zemljič
        • 2018: The Aestheticized Interview with Johan Thom (South Africa) – Kisito Assangni for ArtDependence
      • Authored
        • David Koloane (1938–2019) – Artforum International
        • Kendell Geers at the Steven Friedman, London
        • Life intimidating art, The Diplomat, Sept/Oct 2007
        • Roger Ballen at the Johannesburg Art Gallery, 2007
        • The sleeping monster produces reasons : Diane Victor
        • Santu Mofokeng (2010)
        • The sense of fresh air (2010)
        • Taming the Trojan Horse: Disarming the Politics of Otherness in a Postcolonial (African) Context
    • CONTACT
  • Enter your email address to follow this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.

Create a free website or blog at WordPress.com.

WPThemes.


Privacy & Cookies: This site uses cookies. By continuing to use this website, you agree to their use.
To find out more, including how to control cookies, see here: Cookie Policy
  • Follow Following
    • johanthom.com
    • Join 38 other followers
    • Already have a WordPress.com account? Log in now.
    • johanthom.com
    • Customize
    • Follow Following
    • Sign up
    • Log in
    • Copy shortlink
    • Report this content
    • View post in Reader
    • Manage subscriptions
    • Collapse this bar
 

Loading Comments...
 

    %d bloggers like this: