Corner Gunk
c. 21st century
Unknown


Key Words The Corner; The Private Corner; Corner House; Cape Corner; Cornering; Black Corner.

African, European, Indian and many other cultures melted together into one rainbow culture (is this true?). The artwork titled Corner Gunk at the Alfred De Pass Gallery presents the new reality of our social issues and challenges while questioning our histories as South Africans. This artwork takes the shape of our national flag but in reverse. The black part being the dirty corner that continued to be ignored and un-cleaned while white walls were re-painted for our visitors to see. The reversal of the national flag could be addressing a range of issues from social mockery to regression since the adoption of our new national flag. One has to be very close though in order to notice this dirty corner. It has to be lived, it has to be felt, before even starting to comment about it. The rainbow rhythm of South Africa…(What a touching moment).

In our national flag what does this black triangular corner represent? From modern art galleries to ancient rock art sites, from museums to cultural villages, from jazz clubs to open air festivals have such critical issues been addressed. Who is willing to do the dirty job? A contemporary artwork like this one presents an opportunity for us as South Africans to go through our back yards, to do our critical introspections in order to arrive at the space bigger and lighter than the empty corner where emancipation means the continued re-negotiation of meanings. Where it is acceptable to differ or to be different, presenting endless possibilities of the ways one can live, feel and experience our South African culture.

Bongani Mkhonza