Lady Kollie’s solo exhibition Groot Gat at Standard Bank Gallery digs deep into the complexity of Coloured identity

Groot Gat runs at the Standard Bank Gallery from 5 October to 15 December 2023..The Standard Bank Gallery is located on the corner of Simmonds and Frederick streets in central Johannesburg.

By Edward Tsumele, CITYLIFE/ARTS Editor

“What is your know?” “I am Laura Windvogel .” “Who? What.” “ÖK, call me Lady Skollie.”

She was bold headed and walked with a certain confidence that seemed to suggest that she knew who she was and did not care who thinks what. Believe me you that is how my short conversation with Lady Skollie went. That must have been around 2013 when I bumped on her at the Bag Factory Artist Studios in Fordsburg, where her studio then was. She then told me she had just had an exhibition in London. I got curious that here was a young lady artist who until then I had never heard about, who out of the other places and galleries in South Africa had an exhibition in the UK, several kilometres away. A lot of things however have since happened to this artist. To start with she got married and has a baby who is a few months old. And of course I have met her several times. In the streets, even as a DJ at Strauss &Co. During her solo exhibitions at Everard Read Gallery.

Last week I met her again, and this time she was enjoying an artistic triumph that will definitely continue to elevate her status and standing in the visual art sector in the country. Several people attended her solo exhibition opening at Standard Bank Gallery and as per typical Lady Skolly fashion, she was not modest about her winning the Standard Bank Young Artist Award last year, which in fact lead her to this solo exhibition.

She told the guests how she valued the award, but more importantly, how she deserved this award. You see I have warned you about how modesty is never part of her DNA. But again she is not lying. She deserves the award.

“I have always been an artist since I was young. But I only took art seriously when I went to the Brett Kebble Award and I then realised this thing called art actually has money in it. And today, standing before you I am proud to say that I have been working full time as an artist, earning my living through art and not from doing anything else, for the past 10 years.” She told the guests who included fellow artists, here followers, curators, art collectors and the media who attended the event.

While on the podium, she walked up and down, surveyed the crowd and added. “This award is not just for me. It represents the triumph of the so called Coloured people,” she said and cleared her throat before continuing. “You see the history of brown people has been erased on several platforms. Not so many of them have won this award. I have countered that I must be the fourth one.” She apologised for coming out as preaching.

After her speech, Nkuli Nhleko, her curator from her gallery Everard Read then took over the podium and spoke about the curation journey, after which we had an opportunity to view the art works.

And indeed she out did herself by creating a body of work even those that have been following her career are bound to agree that she created a standard of workmanship that will prove hard to surpass in future. This is especially so simply because she did it when she was pregnant – that is a good body of the work on exhibition she created while carrying her baby in the tummy. We know this because she told us all about it at the opening of the exhibition.

Essentially Groot Gat is an exhibition to mark Lady Skollie’s win as the 2022 Standard Bank Young Artist for Visual Arts. Lady Skollie, whose real name is Laura Windvogel-Molefi, is a South African artist whose creative expression defies societal taboos and addresses a range of critical issues. The exhibition, which premiered at the 2023 National Arts Festival in Makhanda in June, delves into the intricate concept of Brown identity within the tapestry of South Africa’s history and contemporary society.

In her art, Lady Skollie combines audacity and vulnerability, capturing both the light and the darkness of the human experience. The focal point of Lady Skollie’s artistic exploration is Boesmansgat, a submerged freshwater cave located in South Africa’s Northern Cape Province.

Historically, this cave served as a well and a fishing site for the indigenous community before it was seized by colonisers. Today, it is known as a popular destination for free diving. Lady Skollie’s’ artwork parallels this complex physical void that individuals with Brown identities in South Africa might experience due to historical oppression and colonialism.

She expresses how individuals belonging to the Brown communities feel a sense of emptiness within their cultural heritage and memory, and they must work to reclaim their narratives and traditions. “Groot Gat was inspired by the fact that if you’re Coloured in South Africa, you kind of have to deal with the big hole, a void, a gap of forgetting within your own culture,” says LADY SKOLLIE.

In the exhibition, LADY SKOLLIE constructs an imaginative world that envisions the unburdened flourishing of the cultural heritage of various groups, including the San, Khoi, Griqua, and all Brown individuals in South Africa, without the historical weight of colonialism. This imagined realm is brought to life through vibrant artworks that echo the unspoiled cave drawings of these communities and is guarded by a god-like figure inspired by Dada, a Bushman artist who captured the essence of Brown people’s identity through her own artistry.

“Within Grootgat, I try to imagine that hole that is guarded by a giant cave-drawing deity based on Dada. “Within my story, Dada takes the form of a woman who is a giant in a deep hole in a large cave. “No one knows what is on the other side of the hole, but it is made with old folklore and evil, stories told to scare children.

“Dada spent days and nights painting and trying to connect what being Brown, being Naru, is within the South African context. Like me, she designed something that people use every day. I designed the R5 coin for South Africa, depicting the San in a long democratic line, waiting to vote for the first time, while Dada created the first-class seats for British Airways.”

Dada represents a connection to the land, spirituality, and everyday lives of these communities, further emphasising the importance of preserving and celebrating cultural identity. “At the end of my story, the mysterious ‘Groot Gat’ is not a dark or evil place. It’s a place where fantasy is real, a place where being Brown is not a culture that is nipped in the bud. A place where everything has extended and evolved to a point where cave drawings are large, our identities are intact, and we know where we come from and where we are going.”

Born in 1987 in Cape Town, South Africa, LADY SKOLLIE continues to make a significant impact on the art scene through her provocative and meaningful artworks. Her thought-provoking works often explore themes of sexuality, identity, and power dynamics. Her artistic journey is rooted in her education and her exploration of various mediums such as ink, watercolour, and crayon, which she infuses with her unique perspective.

Graduating from the University of Cape Town in 2009 with a degree in History of Art and Dutch Literature provided LADY SKOLLIE with a strong academic foundation in art history and cultural studies. Furthermore, her training in printmaking during her academic years played a crucial role in shaping her creative process.

Exhibition details

Groot Gat runs at the Standard Bank Gallery from 5 October to 15 December 2023..The Standard Bank Gallery is located on the corner of Simmonds and Frederick streets in central Johannesburg, and offers free, safe undercover parking on the corner of Harrison and Frederick streets.

Gallery hours:

Monday-Friday: from 8am to 4.30pm

Saturday: from 9am to 1pm.

Closed Sundays and Public Holidays

Entrance to the exhibition is free.