It Rains Blessings!, Wycliffe Mundopa, Jeroen Blok & Seyran Kirmizitoprak
Twelve Twelve Gallery / 3 March – 26 March 2017
Twelve Twelve Gallery is happy to announce It Rains Blessings, a group exhibition by artists Wycliffe Mundopa, Jeroen Blok and performance artist Seyran Kirmizitoprak. Although all three artists live in completely different worlds, they are united in their need to comment on – and perhaps even change – the world we share.
Consequently, It Rains Blessings is an eclectic happening in which different rules, languages and visuals interact with each other and our society. At Twelve Twelve Gallery three distinctive and unique artistic concepts come together to trigger the visitor’s mind.
Wycliffe Mundopa
Wycliffe Mundopa’s art is colourful, expressive and vibrant. The paintings depict the lives of women and children in Harare, Zimbabwe, the city where Mundopa lives and works. As he encounters the continuing struggle of women in Zimbabwe to break out of their inferior role in society, his art is an attempt to give a place to the anger, hurt and compassion that the artist feels. At the same time, the paintings serve as an acknowledgement to those that are often left unseen – whether they are mothers, prostitutes, breadwinners, or anything else. At Twelve Twelve, Mundopa’s work will serve to pass those stories and sentiments on to the visitor.
Jeroen Blok
Jeroen Blok is many things, always moving between different styles, personalities and visuals – and that is visible in his art. His images represent the final stage of this thoughtprocess, reflecting on the human experience and human interaction as he encounters it in daily life. Blok’s art at Twelve Twelve is surreal and other-worldly, as he made collages of various images in such a smooth way it could almost be real – but it is not. Consequently, the work reflects on our idea of “ideal worlds,” represented by the captivating, wonderful imagery of far-away holiday locations. Rather than magical, his work is realistic and attempts to break down the myth of an ideal world yet to visit. On the other hand, his more abstract work is less related to the artist’s intellectual pursuit and rather an expression of his emotions when they are too complex to grasp in words. At Twelve Twelve, both will be shown to visualize Blok’s investigative and critiquing role both on and within society.
Seyran Kirmizitoprak
Seyran Kirmizitoprak will be giving a performance “Hollywood” at the opening of It Rains Blessings, after which the dress of that performance will be displayed in the gallery. If you want to understand who Seyran is, you have to experience her. Having left the common rules conventions of society far behind, Seyran is only a part of her own world and its new conventions. The performance will engage all visitors with this estranged world, forcing participants to step out of their comfort zone and put aside their beliefs and traditions. What is normal and what is not is questioned in this interactive event, leaving the visitor to wonder their own habitude. As such, Seyran brings life to the ideas put forward in both Mundopa, Blok and her own work – and thus into Twelve Twelve.
