Mlu Zondi *

Inferno (Performance)

Artist's Statement

* Spier Contemporary 2010 Winner : Mlu Zondi is the beneficiary of a residency at the 18th Street Arts Centre in Los Angeles, California

Inferno is a performance and video installation that consists of a floor installation of plywood filled with red sand. There are red candles designed as a map of Africa almost the size of the installation. All candles are lit for the performance. Circling the candles is a white path where the performance happens. For the performance, the performer is wearing a monk’s red robes with the hood tied on the waist with red ropes. We can’t see his face as it is covered by his hood. He is carrying a black container with water and we can hear chants coming from him as he slowly walks around the candles, throwing bits of water on the candles as if blessing or extinguishing them. He continues to walk/dance/move around with repetitive movements. The performance is documented from above and the documentation is then projected onto the screen made from white candles.

Artist's Biography

Born: 1975. Lives and works in Durban. Received his National Diploma in Drama and Performance Studies from the Durban University of Technology in 2000. Major exhibitions: Galerie KUB, Germany; Guth Gafa Documentary Festival 09, Ireland; KZNSA Gallery, Kizo Gallery, Durban; AVA Gallery and Cape Africa Platform, in Cape Town; KVS Theatre, Bains Connective, Brussels, Belgium; Seoul Performing Arts Company, Seoul, South Korea. Standard Bank Young Artist Award Winner 2010 (Dance).

• Announcing the Audience Choice Award
• Zim Ngqawana and Kyle Shepherd do Vandalizim at Spier Contemporary
• Getting the best from the Exhibition