The curatorial : an analysis of xenoglossia, a research project (2011), and featuring simplicity as an irrational fear (2010)

Abstract

Interrogating the conditions under which curatorial practices have developed and the theories this practice have executed within the South Africa context, this research discusses the curatorial methodologies employed by the Center for Historical Reenactments (CHR) in Xenoglossia, a research project (2011), and Lerato Bereng in her curation of Featuring Simplicity as an irrational Fear (2010). This is done in relation to how these two projects began to signal a shift towards the notion of the curatorial. It is argued that the broader socio-political conditions in South Africa have influenced South African art history trends and the emergence of curatorial practices, which embody ideas of the curatorial and have therefore developed particular kinds of curatorial projects unique to this context. This research explores Irit Rogoff’s notion of the curatorial where she argues that the curatorial is a principle of knowledge production that begins to shape and determine other forms in which art can engage. It is critical thought, which does not rush to concretise itself but rather interrogate questions until they point to directions we may not have been able to predict. This understanding of the curatorial is further extended to Chus Martinez and Sarat Maharaj’s theories on artistic research, as they articulate methodologies of research that work towards indeterminate modes of working. By examining the two case studies in relation to this notion, the research aims to discuss how these curatorial methodologies have cultivated curatorial projects that respond to the South African context.