Photo by: Laura Lerner
The University of Denver is pleased to present the artwork of the young, celebrated South African artist, Minnette VCB!ri.
Her distinct artwork is displayed in the Victoria H. Myhren Gallery in the Schwayder Art Building until May 7.
The exhibit, featured on video projectors, is called Chimera.
It is a projection of the Voortrekker, or pioneer, Monument in Pretoria, South Africa.
The Chimera is a female mythical monster with a serpent’s tail, a goat’s body and a lion’s head, and signifies a wild, unrealistic dream.
To create the environment for this mythical character, digital media was manipulated to make the figures look fluid.
Images of the Chimera, which take the form of the artist herself, morph in and out of other images, haunting the figures in each.
“It was interesting and cool to watch, but it was a little on the morbid side,” says DU freshman Stephanie Garcia.
The images projected onto each of four screens in the gallery illustrate the Voortrekker Monument, which was dedicated in 1949 to portray Afrikaner mythology.
In her artwork, VCB!ri uses this notion of Afrikaner mythology to question the ideas of race and gender roles in South Africa.
The art would not be complete without the ghostly background sounds of wind and low voices that create an eerie atmosphere.
“The noise took the art to another level and it added to the mystery and the ambiance of the setting,” says DU freshman Zoe Rudnick.
“That’s not usually what you see every day in galleries.”
Rudnick heard about this gallery from her friends and decided she wanted to see what it was like, but she did not expect what she eventually saw or heard in the exhibit.
“It was exciting and a completely different kind of show,” she said.
Garcia felt the same way. “The sounds really announced the artwork and set a mood for it,” she said.
“It wouldn’t have been so creepy without it.”
VCB!ri, who currently lives and works in Johannesburg, Africa was born in Pretoria in 1968, and obtained both her Bachelors and Masters degrees in fine arts from the University of Pretoria.
Using images of her own body in her artwork makes it unique as she puts herself in the mythology.
Her contemporary artistic style communicates her ideas about memory and myths through a video medium, and is well-known throughout the world.
She has had many art exhibits in countries such as Germany, Switzerland and France, as well as all around the United States.
Prints of her artwork are available for purchase online.
For more information on the author and a short preview of the exhibit, visit www.du.edu/art/galleries/myhren/vari/. The display is free to the entire public.
