Vela Projects | Pre-Release 2023

Vela Projects is thrilled to present 'Pre-Release 2023'.

In anticipation of the grand opening of Vela Project's gallery on December 9, 2023, three artists – Nozuko Madokwe, Songezo Zantsi, and Alexis Schofield – each showcase three works.

Nozuko Madokwe's practice involves hiking and sourcing natural pigments primarily from the mountains of Western Cape. Her abstract layering mimics the strata of the earth, providing a two-dimensional metaphor for the history, processing, and intellect contained in the soil. She aims to captivate the viewer with the sense of curiosity about the force of natural knowledge and liberty.

Songezo Zantsi practices a form of social realism adopted and placed into the context of 21st Century South Africa. Drawing from scenes photographed by the artist and images from his family archive, Zantsi establishes a link between the present and the recent past. He paints scenes from everyday life featuring natural poses, movements, and attitudes, representing the social behaviour, cultural norms, and lifestyles surrounding the artist. His depictions of life reflect the complexities of everyday reality, which inevitably oscillate between hope, dread, beauty, and discontent.

Alexis Schoefield paints scenes reflecting the loneliness and isolation that stems from the vast interconnectedness in the contemporary world. Employing a complex style including washes, sketching, and direct painting, his narrative scenes mirror the intricacies of social interactions. Drawing from scenes in the artist's life, Schoefield reflects an underlying current of anxiety behind the façadeof social interactions, extracting the internal from the external behaviour.

This exhibition runs from 27 November to 15 December 2023.