Iziko Museums of South Africa is gearing up to launch the exhibition, I Never Liked it Here: Revisiting ‘Inter-Action’ by Manfred Zylla. The exhibition will open at the Iziko South African National Gallery (ISANG) on Heritage Day, Tuesday, 24 September 2024. The series consists of nine black and white crayon drawings that depict various stereotypes of apartheid such as security forces or government officials.
First shown in 1982, at the Community Arts Centre in Cape Town, Zylla encouraged viewers and artists to interact directly with the works themselves by writing and drawing on them.
Zylla’s unusual approach turned the exhibition into a collaborative project that blurred the lines between artist, artwork, and audience – rendering viewers into doers, rather than passive observers.
Inter-Action, an artistic response to the institutionalised racism and human rights abuses of the apartheid regime in South Africa, have not seen the light of day since it was donated to ISANG in the early 1990s. The artworks, which form part of the Iziko South African National Gallery Permanent Collection, will be undergoing paper conservation from 4 until 16 September 2024. A multi-disciplinary team from Memorist SA will undertake paper conservation treatment of the work. The process, highlighting preservation practices at Iziko, be showcased to the public during designated times, with updates and schedules shared through Iziko’s social media channels. Demonstrating its commitment to preserving cultural heritage, Iziko will bring a generally accepted behind-the-scenes practice into the public domain, thus making the paper conservation treatment part of the exhibition story.
