Heaven is not closed

Jody Brand & contemporaries

03.12.22 - 26.02.23

In the heart of Cape Town, a city where the traumas of the past remain ever-present, lies the Remembrance Gallery. Upon discovering that it had once been the quarters of previously enslaved people on the Leeuwenhof estate this space has been re-imagined and returned to the public as a site to reflect on our shared history through art.

Over the next three months, artist & photographer Jody Brand will bring her work and practice of care through the radical occupation of space into the grounds of Leeuwenhof. "Think of it as an offering," says Jody Brand as she hangs stings of dried sour figs above a delicate bed made of burglar bars, "we must acknowledge and understand our past in order to shape our own futures".

By reconnecting to her family's origins, Brand's practice is one of healing in action, exploring a politics of care. She describes the prudent use of seasonal fruits and vegetables in making preserves, foraging for figs and kumquats, and stitching together lace fragments as remedies latent in our inherited traditions. Centring the personal as political Brand condenses the weight of tragedy into the sensory experience as a means for introspection and deeper connection.

Heaven is not closed is more than a passive gesture of commemoration, instead, these works are an active resistance to the threat of erasure, unveiling the mark of the past on our present and opening a pathway to healing. Additionally, Brand has selected two of her contemporaries, Sitaara Stodel and Queezy Babaz to showcase their work in the Bo-Tuyn Huys. Stodel and Queezy’s works expand on the exhibition theme of memory. From an early age, Queezy was aware of the transformative nature of colour. They recall a memory of their mother, transforming the living room by painting it pink and enlivening the domestic space. Exploring these and other deeply personal and often domestic memories lead to the creation of "The Ancestors". "The Ancestors" are a series of mobiles representing the ancestors' presence within a space.

The bright metallic mobiles inhabit all aspects of the space, twisting and glinting under the vines, hovering in the entrance hall and framing the living room fireplace; each mobile is an acknowledgement of the spirits of the ancestors embedded within the rooms. During childhood, with the threat of eviction hanging heavy over her family, Sitaalra Stodel recalls having moved over 40 times. With images of other people's families found in antique stores and markets, Stodel curates her childhood memories into found image collages. Tearing up found images of interiors, pets and prized possessions, Stodel crafts domestic scenes in an attempt to remake her scattered memories of home. While deliberate voids in the composition and occasionally torn edges hint at the pain of constant movement, an air of wistfulness also pervades some of the artist's works. In some compositions, we catch glimpses of the artist's ideal home, fresh flowers and framed artworks, a house by the sea and shiny cars, hinting at a domestic daydream clouded with nostalgia. Text written by Sam Wroth Rietmann, curator & Jody Brand, artist.

03 December, Saturday, 10am - 2pm

Public viewing and panel discussion between Jody Brand and historian Joline Young.

07 January, Saturday, 10am - 2pm

Public viewing and performance by Queezy Babaz and Jody Brand in the courtyard of the Remembrance Gallery.

04 February, Saturday, 10am - 2pm

Public viewing and pickle-making workshop hosted by Jody Brand.

Leeuwenhof
Hof street, Gardens, Cape Town, 8001

Entrance is free, but bookings are essential by Friday at noon:

capetownmuseum@westerncape.gov.za
(send your name and ID)

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Heaven is not closed

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