Artists Nadia Myburgh and Kay-Leigh Fisher’s collaborative exhibition at Bag Factory after residency

The joint exhibition by the two artists Embodied & Embedded is on at the Bag Factory in Fordsburg till September 30, 2023. This Saturday at 12 noon there will be a walkabout with the artists.

By Edward Tsumele,

Both Kay-Leigh Fischer and Nadia Myburgh used to see each other on the art campus of the University of the Witwatersrand but did not give so much as a casual glance by way of acknowledgement. But their relationship changed in October 2022, when both were awarded a residency at the world renowned Fordsburg based artist Studio Bag Factory Studios, thanks to artist Sam Nhlengethwa’s annual bursary for female artists.

Not only did the artists find themselves sharing this bursary, but the studio space as well as collaborating. The work that have been producing in the past 12 month constitute an exhibition that is currently running till 30 September at the Bag Factory.

Fisher’s painting, mainly portraits in mainly black and white, and Myburgh’s textile works that are hung in the Bag Factory’s gallery have changed the atmosphere of this place, making it more lively. The walls have been repainted to be consistent with the mood of the exhibition. Some parts of the walls have been reconfigured to create more gallery space for the exhibition.

For example Myburg’s window installation, of a dusty window speaks to the experience of daily life in the Riverlea township, South West of Johannesburg, where she hails from. It is a place surrounded by mine dumps and which currently is facing a huge challenge of dust displaced by blowing winds from the mine dumps to be deposited on residents’ windows.

Using textile as her main material, you can even visualise the mine dumps that are also causing another problem for the residents-the Zama Zamas’ who from time to time are involved in violent turf wars with rival illegal mining gangs as they fight for cramps of gold left by mining conglomerates without being rehabilitated. The residents of Riverlea are often caught in the cross fire. However Myburgh’s art that is part of this exhibition focuses mainly on the dust that threatens the health of residents in their houses. Fisher’s portraits seem to focus on family life, ordinary people beautifully captured in their everyday activities by the artist.

Born and bred in a small semi-rural mining dorp in Randfontein called Toekomsrus, Fisher says she has always been interested in creating art objects from a young age, and she got encouragement from her mom. Her father had reservations through about the viability of a career in art.

“However when I went to high school, encouraged by an art teacher called Henco Janse Van Rensburg, I studied the principles of design as I believed that would be viable.   I proceeded to Wits to study art u8nder Professor Karel Nel. After graduating with a BA in fine art, and then went to Michaelies at the University Cape Town to study for a degree in curatorial practices,” Fisher told CITYLIFE/ARTS in an interview this week that was jointly held with Myburgh. 

Apart from practising as an artist, she works at the Joburg Contemporary Art Foundation in Forest Town, where she is an assistant curator. This makes her one of a few people in the country who are both practising artists and curators, for many an artist after they get employed as curators, they often kiss good by to their art practice.  This has been the trend in South Africa in recent years where artists After qualifying, they either choose to proceed to study art history and become academics or curatorial practice and become curators, and in the process abandon art practice in favour of a stable income, and in most cases, never to come back to practising art, and therefore, in the process, rob the art market of the artist in them.

“For me practising as well as curating confirms my multi-disciplinary approach to art.  I apply what I have learned in curatorial practice studies in my art making and do the same when it comes to my curatorial practice,” Fisher explained.

The two artists told CITYLIFE/ARTS that they were happy the way the residency has turned out. IN the past weekend, they hosted visitors that came to visit the exhibition as part of the FNB Art Joburgh Open City programme.

“So far the response has been positive, with some commenting that they like the way we have used the space in this exhibition. This coming weekend, September 16, we will have a walk about engaging visitors about our journey during the residency. WE will do this throu8gh a Zine that we created as part of this journey, which basically explains our journey so far. WE will however expect the visitors to engage with the Zine and reflect on our journey as well. In other words we will ask the visitors to give us feedback,” Myburgh explained.

And where to from here

My burg told CITYLIFE/ARTS that going forward three things are the top of her list of priorities.

“Going forward, I would like my art and art practice to reach a wider audience. During the residency I focussed mainly on technique, looking for my visual voice and that came through the material I( use, which is textile. This is after I was encouraged to consider embroidery by my aunt Rudaiba Lee, who has been doing embroidery for quite a while now. I also went to go back to university to f8inish my master’s degree in fine art, which was disrupted by Covid-19. I would also like to consider applying for residencies around the world,” she explained.

MyBurg explained that she was attracted to the Sam Nhlengethwa residency when she used to visit her friend Malebona  Maphutse in 2018, and so how “she manifested herself.”

“We are so delighted to present the opening of the joint exhibition by the 2022/23 Young Womxn Studio Bursary Award recipients, Kay-Leigh Fisher and Nadia Myburgh, entitled: Embodied & Embedded.
As part of their 12 month long artist residency at the Bag Factory both Fisher and Myburgh have further developed their own unique visual languages and created new artworks. The artists have bonded in each other’s commonalities and differences….collaborated in creating work while also critically engaging with one another’s practice. It is also with this ethos that the Studio Bursary anticipates to support artists in their process of experimentation, collaboration and making – culminating in their forthcoming presentations,” says The Bag Factory in a stamen accompanying the exhibition.