Iziko South African National Gallery is proud to host the exhibition of the Standard Bank Young Artist for Visual Art 2006, Churchill Madikida, previously also the joint recipient of the Tollman Award for a young artist, in 2003. He has in the past, through media including video, photography and live performance, explored the contemporary implications of Xhosa traditions, and the initiation ritual of circumcision in particular. He has also focussed extensively on the impact of HIV/Aids on his own life and that of other South Africans.

Churchill Madikida grew up without his biological father, believing he had died when Madikida was very young. They recently met for the first time in 32 years. Drawing from his own personal experience, the works in this exhibition engage with Madikida’s complex family history and provide an insight into how the absence of his biological father may have shaped his sense of being, his relationships and even perhaps his perception of the world. He attempts to share his struggles in trying to understand and overcome a particular lack, a process that for the artist includes acknowledging the shortcomings and wrongs of the past and in the main offers forgiveness and the suggestion of moving forward.

Enquiries: Pam Warne, Tel. 021 467 4660