Sometimes, in a dream, (naked ).
Eve.
She is like a Palindrome, a word or sentence when spelled backwards, more often than not, becomes newly meaningful.
But sometimes, Eve is just Eve.
Her hairless body, her headless body-double, in a warm, black-and-white bushy dream.
An exhibition opening at Lemon design studio this September signals the arrival of a compelling new presence on the South African art and art photographic landscape.
Titled Palindroom and opening on 20 September, this is the first photographic exhibition for Koos Groenewald – long admired as one-half of acclaimed creative duo, Jana + Koos.
Koooooos has two solo exhibitions to his name – but those who have come to know his work will once again be surprised. Arresting and intriguing, Palindroom shows Koos striking new creative ground, making work that doesn’t borrow from anything he’s done before.
And in bringing his photography to the public, Koos has – not unexpectedly for this design maverick – taken an alternative approach. Specifically resisting the established gallery route, Koos is presenting Palindroom in Lemon’s production space in the basement of the studio’s new Kramerville home.
Palindroom features a selection of photographs that Koos describes as asymmetrical reflections, odd pairs, daydreams, nightmares and happy accidents:
Stereo-Stare all you like, Bob. 🙂
Are you having a Rorschach field day yet?Pink-red Pinhole Sunsets.
Black Boys in Pink.
Pink Girls in Black Frames.
Butts and Nipples, stand.
The results are singular, amply demonstrating Koos’ ability to keenly observe the world he inhabits with equal parts reverence and irreverence.
In conceiving Palindroom, Koos drew from a bank of imagery that he’s created over time. Through his extraordinary eye for the surreal details of everyday life, he manages to capture those many small, seemingly incidental things that we don’t even realise we’ve interacted with.
He’s then paired disparate images and subjects together in unexpected, at times humorous, ways – lazy cats on a rock set against a group of sunbathing men; a yawning feline against a faux-fur background.
“Lemon has a keen and long-standing passion for fine art photography – and, as a brand we look to partner with artists who are creating work that is interesting, not only in the content but in the way that it is presented,” says Kevin Frankental, Lemon Director. “Koos is an immense talent and we are proud that he has chosen us as collaborators. He gives no apologies for his work, it is completely him – part serious, part humour, often intimate and always original.”
I put my thing down, flip it and reverse it
Ti esrever dna ti pilf, nwod gniht ym tupWall to Wall, Orange, and Oranges, butting up just so.
Floppy Cocks, Shaggy Carpets and Forest Clearings.
Rocky beaches Gwano Birds and Marble Busts.Repeat Patterns Repeat.
Pictures Pun.
